How to use
On the From hourly wage tab, enter your hourly wage and your contracted weekly hours (the hours set in your contract, excluding overtime). You see your weekly holiday pay, weekly pay, monthly pay and annual pay. The hourly wage field starts at the 2026 minimum wage of KRW 10,320. Choose whether you worked every scheduled day that week, and enable the probation reduction only if you meet the legal conditions explained below. If the hourly wage you enter is below the 2026 minimum wage, a warning appears.
On the Check monthly salary tab, enter your base pay, regular monthly bonus and cash benefits. Enter your monthly reference hours (209 by default). The calculator converts your pay to an hourly equivalent, compares it with the 2026 minimum wage, and shows how much you are short each month if it falls below.
South Korea’s 2026 minimum wage
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Hourly rate | KRW 10,320 |
| Increase | Up KRW 290 (2.9%) from KRW 10,030 in 2025 |
| Monthly equivalent (40 h a week, 209 hours) | KRW 2,156,880 |
| Probation rate (90%) | KRW 9,288 an hour, KRW 1,941,192 a month |
| Period | January 1 – December 31, 2026, all industries |
| Legal basis | Ministry of Employment and Labor Notice No. 2025-47 (issued August 5, 2025) |
The Minimum Wage Commission voted on the rate on July 10, 2025, and the Ministry of Employment and Labor published the final notice on August 5, 2025.
Where the 209 hours a month come from
For salaried workers, the monthly salary is divided by a standard number of hours per month to get an hourly rate, which is then compared with the minimum wage (Enforcement Decree of the Minimum Wage Act, Article 5). A 40-hour-a-week worker also gets 8 hours of pay for the weekly holiday, so 48 hours a week are paid.
- 48 hours × 365 ÷ 7 ÷ 12 = 208.57 hours → 209 hours
- KRW 10,320 × 209 hours = KRW 2,156,880
For 40 hours a week, this calculator uses 209 hours as is. For fewer hours, it calculates monthly hours as (contracted hours + weekly holiday hours) × 365 ÷ 7 ÷ 12 without rounding the hours, and rounds only the final amount to the nearest won. For example, at 20 hours a week that is (20 + 4) × 365 ÷ 7 ÷ 12 = 104.29 hours, and the monthly equivalent is KRW 1,076,229. Annual pay is the monthly equivalent × 12, which is KRW 25,882,560 at 40 hours a week.
Weekly holiday pay: conditions and formula
Weekly holiday pay (juhyu sudang) pays for a weekly day off under Korean law: if you work every scheduled day in a week, you get at least one paid day off per week on average (Labor Standards Act, Article 55(1); Enforcement Decree, Article 30(1)). It does not apply if your contracted weekly hours average under 15 over 4 weeks (Labor Standards Act, Article 18(3)).
Weekly holiday pay = (contracted weekly hours ÷ 40) × 8 hours × hourly wage
Overtime beyond 40 hours is left out, so weekly holiday pay covers 8 hours at most. These examples use the 2026 minimum wage.
| Contracted weekly hours | Weekly holiday hours | Weekly holiday pay | Weekly pay (contracted + holiday) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 hours | 8 hours | KRW 82,560 | KRW 495,360 |
| 25 hours | 5 hours | KRW 51,600 | KRW 309,600 |
| 20 hours | 4 hours | KRW 41,280 | KRW 247,680 |
| 15 hours | 3 hours | KRW 30,960 | KRW 185,760 |
| 14 hours | None | KRW 0 | KRW 144,480 |
The calculation assumes a comparable full-time worker works 40 hours over 5 days a week. Actual weekly holiday pay may differ if that worker’s schedule at your workplace differs. Check the exact amount with your regional employment and labor office.
Checking a monthly salary (pay that counts)
Pay given regularly at least once a month counts toward the minimum wage (Minimum Wage Act, Article 6(4)). Since 2024, regular monthly bonuses and benefits paid in cash, such as meal, housing and transport allowances, count in full. Pay for work outside contracted hours, such as overtime, night and holiday work, and benefits in kind (such as provided meals) do not count. Enter only pay that counts on the monthly salary tab.
Workplaces with fewer than 5 employees and probation
- Fewer than 5 employees: The minimum wage and weekly holiday pay apply equally to workplaces with 4 or fewer regular employees. Paid public holidays and the premiums for overtime, night and holiday work do not apply there (Enforcement Decree of the Labor Standards Act, Appendix 1).
- Probation: If the contract runs for 1 year or more and it is within 3 months of the start of probation, an employer can pay 90% of the minimum wage (Minimum Wage Act, Article 5(2); Enforcement Decree, Article 3). No reduction is allowed for simple manual jobs designated by the Minister of Employment and Labor.
- Exclusions: To exclude someone from the minimum wage, such as a person whose ability to work is significantly limited by a mental or physical disability, the employer needs approval from the Minister of Employment and Labor (Minimum Wage Act, Article 7).
This calculator does not include premiums for overtime, night and holiday work, taxes, or social insurance.
South Korea’s 2027 minimum wage
The 2027 minimum wage is KRW 10,700 an hour and applies from January 1, 2027. To calculate with the 2027 rate, use the South Korea Minimum Wage Calculator 2027.