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South Korea

Global Employment Solutions & PEO in South Korea

Omnipresent makes it fast and easy to employ remote talent in South Korea. We take care of payroll, compliance, taxes, and admin so you can focus on growing your business.

South KoreaSouth Korea

Omnipresent Employment Rating

Capital City
Seoul
Currency
South Korean won (₩, KRW)
Language
Korean
Payroll Frequency
Employment Costs
Termination
Population
51780579

What You Need to Know About Employing in South Korea

Don’t risk non-compliance with local employment, social insurance, and tax regulations.

Select any of the categories below to learn more, and even review our employee cost salary calculator in South Korea.

Quickly compare key information between top countries with our Country Comparison tool.

How it works
Employer Costs
Employee Income Taxes
Employee Social Contributions
Working Hours
Holidays & Vacation
Sick Leave Entitlement
Parental Leave
Annual Leave Entitlement
Severance Pay Entitlement
Termination
Employment Cost Calculator
South Korea

How does Omnipresent Global Employment Solutions work in South Korea?

Omnipresent provides global employment solutions and professional employment organisation (PEO) services for companies looking to grow and build out a global team in South Korea. Traditional methods of establishing global employment and subsidiaries in South Korea typically take months and can incur heavy costs. Omnipresent’s global employment solutions and PEO services is helping hundreds of organisations onboard new employees in South Korea in a matter of days with full compliance of local labour laws. We use a tech-forward approach to streamline the process. 

  • Your company conducts the hiring and candidate selection process in South Korea.
  • Omnipresent hires the selected candidate through our local professional employment organisation in South Korea.
  • We take care of ensuring your new employee is hired in compliance with local labour laws, payroll regulations, benefits and more -- all without needing to set up a subsidiary in South Korea.
  • The individual is legally contracted by Omnipresent but assigned to work for your company and reports to a manager or team in your organisation as your full-time employee.
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Employer Costs in South Korea

Employer costs include National Health Insurance, National Pension Insurance, and Employment Insurance. Use the OmniCalculator to estimate costs or contact us for further information.

South Korea

Employee Income Taxes in South Korea

The rate of personal taxation varies depending on the income tax bracket the individual belongs to. This ranges between 6.6% - 46.2%.

South Korea

Employee Social Contributions in South Korea

Employee contributions include National Pension, Long-term Care Insurance, and National Health Insurance. This list is non-exhaustive, please contact us for further information.

The rate for National Health Insurance will remain unchanged in 2024, but the rate for Long Term Care Insurance (LTCI) will rise 1.09% effective January 1, 2024 . The new LTCI rate for the 2024 fiscal year will be 0.9182%, up from 0.9082%.

South Korea

Working Hours in South Korea

Statutory limit of 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.

As long as an employer and an employee has an agreement, overtime is possible for up to 12 hours per week. Except for pregnant workers or female workers within 1 year after childbirth, there is no limit for daily overtime for adult workers. Overtime rate is 150%.

South Korea

Holidays & Vacation in South Korea

Please note that the below information covers national holidays and should be used for informative purposes only and not as a guarantee for payroll purposes. While we strive to offer you accurate information, public holidays are subject to frequent changes and can be dependent on regional differences. Should you need more detailed information on public holidays, please consult the government pages of the state and/or the local municipality of your employee.

  • Monday, Jan 01, 2024 - New Year's Day (신정)
  • Saturday, Feb 10, 2024 - Korean New Year (설날)
  • Friday, Mar 01, 2024 - Independence Movement Day (3·1절)
  • Sunday, May 05, 2024 - Children's Day (어린이날)
  • Wednesday, May 15, 2024 - Buddha's Birthday (석가탄신일)
  • Thursday, Jun 06, 2024 - Memorial Day (현충일)
  • Thursday, Aug 15, 2024 - Liberation Day (광복절)
  • Tuesday, Sep 17, 2024 - Korean Thanksgiving (추석)
  • Thursday, Oct 03, 2024 - National Foundation Day (개천절)
  • Wednesday, Oct 09, 2024 - Hangul Day (한글날)
  • Wednesday, Dec 25, 2024 - Christmas Day (기독탄신일)
South Korea

Sick Leave Entitlement in South Korea

No paid sick leave. If provided, specify in the contract or in the Rules of Employment (known in other jurisdictions as the employee handbook). The Rules of Employment contains policies relating to employment such as family leave, retirement, health and safety and holidays.

Parental Leave in South Korea

Maternity: Female employees must be granted 90 days paid maternity leave for single birth and 120 days in case of multiple births which can be used before and after birth. At least 45 days (60 days in case of multiple births) must be used after childbirth. Compensation for the first 60 days (75 days in case of multiple births) is paid by the employer, while the remaining days are paid from the Employment Insurance Fund.

Parental: If the employee (father or mother) has worked for the same employer continuously for a minimum of 6 months and has a child / children of up to 8 years old or in second grade or below in elementary school, they have an entitlement to unpaid childcare leave of up to 1 year. In addition, if a pregnant female employee requests leave of absence for childcare for protection of her maternity, the company should grant it.

Annual Leave Entitlement in South Korea

1st year: employees are entitled to 11 days per year.

2nd and 3rd years: employees are entitled to 15 days per year.

3rd year and onward: one day’s paid leave is added for every two years of employment, up to a total of 25 days.

Additional leave may be applicable.

Severance Pay Entitlement in South Korea

Payable regardless of the reason for termination with one months’  salary (including any bonus paid within the previous 3 months) per continuous year of service.

The employee must have been employed for at least 1 year with the employer.

Termination in South Korea

Termination can be by written notice but requires “justifiable reason to terminate.” According to the Korean Supreme Court, the reason must be “directly attributable to the employee.”

In general, stealing, missing an excessive number of days of work, and violating laws related to the job, have all been deemed enough to terminate, but it is more difficult for an employer to establish “justifiable reason to terminate” based on poor performance since the court precedents set high standards.

Prior to termination, it is advisable to contact an attorney to allow the company not to terminate an employee in violation of law.

In short it is almost impossible to dismiss employee in ordinary way in Korea. In most instances, both employer and employee should mutually agree to terminate the agreement.

Global Employment Cost Calculator in South Korea

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South Korea

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Social Security - Unemployment insurance contribution
GBP 695.47
Health Insurance
GBP 695.47
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South Korea

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South Korea

Grow your global team. 
Employ the best talent, anywhere in the world

The benefits of growing a global team and finding the best talent anywhere in the world are endless. It’s important to note that labour laws and regulations in South Korea are strict with penalties for non-compliance. Let our team take care of the global employment solutions such as payroll, benefits, compliance, taxes, and admin so you can focus on growing your business. We are here to help you every step of the way.

Want to onboard an international employee today? Get started.

Omnipresent makes it easy to hire, pay, and support your international team with our top-notch services including our global EOR & PEO services. Book a call with us to start building your global team today. Book a call with us to start building your global team today.

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