Work conditions in South Korea

The Active Population in Figures

	2018	2019	2020
Labour Force	28,303,251	28,541,664	28,348,936

Source: International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database

Source: International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database

Employed Persons, by Occupation (% of Total Labour Force)	2015
Manufacturing	17.3%
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	14.6%
Accommodation and food service activities	8.4%
Construction	7.0%
Education	7.0%
Human health and social work activities	6.8%
Transportation and storage	5.4%
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	5.2%
Administrative and support service activities	4.8%
Professional, scientific and technical activities	4.0%
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	3.6%
Financial and insurance activities	3.0%
Information and communication	3.0%
Real estate activities	2.1%
Arts, entertainment and recreation	1.6%
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply	0.4%
Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities	0.3%
Mining and quarrying	0.1%

For Further Statistics: Korea National Statistical Office
For Further Information About the Labour Market: National Labour Relations Commission (NLRC)
Human Resources Development Service of Korea

Legal Weekly Duration: 40 or 44 hours per week.
Retirement Age: The minimum normal retirement age is 60. Employees may choose to retire early if the work contract or collective agreement permits earlier retirement.
Working Contracts: Employment contracts determine if the employee is part of the regular or non-regular staff. Permanent employees form the regular staff. Among the non-regular staff, there are different types of contract: part-time workers, temporary workers, dispatched workers, fixed-term contract workers and entrusted employees.
Labour Laws: Doing Business: South Korea, to obtain a summary of labour regulations that apply to local entreprises

Minimum Wage

On 15 August 2019, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) announced the legal minimum wage for 2020 of KRW 8,590 (approximately USD 7) per hour.

Average Wage

The average salary in South Korea in 2019 is approximately $44,980 a year, $3,750/month.

Social Contributions

Social Security Contributions Paid By Employers:

National Pension: 4.5% (National pension contribution is capped at a monthly salary of KRW 4,860,000)
Health Insurance: 3.68% (currently capped at a monthly contribution of KRW 6,644,340 in total, subject to change in 2020)
Employment Insurance: from 1.05% to 1.65%, depending on the number of employees and type of industry.
Worker’s Compensation Insurance: 0.73% to 18.63% depending on the industry

Social Security Contributions Paid By Employees:

National Pension: 4.5% (National pension contribution is capped at a monthly salary of KRW 4,860,000)
Health Insurance: 3.68% (currently capped at a monthly contribution of KRW 6,644,340 in total, subject to change in 2020)
Employment Insurance: 0.80%

Social Dialogue and Involvement of Social Partners: Union negotiations in South Korea take place at the national level, the sector level or the company level.
Unions: Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). Represented about 1,770 affiliates in 2016
Unionisation Rate: 10.1% in 2012.
Labour Regulation Bodies: Ministry of Labour