What is the minimum wage in Korea, and how is overtime pay calculated?

Korea's minimum wage for 2026 is 10,320 won per hour, and it applies equally to foreign workers on any work visa.

The Minimum Wage Commission publishes the figure annually. For 2026 it works out to 82,560 won for an eight-hour day and 2,156,880 won a month on the standard 40-hour week including 8 hours of paid weekly holiday allowance. Enforcement is real: paying below the minimum is an offence, and a contract term setting a lower wage is void, with the statutory minimum applying in its place.

Overtime pay (연장근로수당) is 1.5 times the ordinary hourly wage for hours beyond 40 a week or 8 a day, which at the 2026 minimum is 15,480 won an hour. Night work (야간근로, 10pm to 6am) adds a further 50 percent. Work on a weekend or a public holiday is paid at 1.5 times for the first 8 hours and 2 times beyond that. The 52-hour cap is 40 regular hours plus up to 12 hours of overtime a week.

Foreign worker protections. All foreign workers are covered by the Labor Standards Act, the Minimum Wage Act and the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act. Employers must give E-9 holders a written contract in a language they understand, and unilateral wage cuts, unexplained deductions and unpaid overtime are unlawful. The four social insurances are compulsory: National Pension, National Health Insurance including long-term care, Employment Insurance, and Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance, which the employer pays in full. The contribution rates for the first three are set annually, so read the current percentages off your payslip (월급명세서) or from 국민건강보험공단 and 국민연금공단 rather than from a fixed number in a guide.

If your employer pays below the minimum, withholds wages or refuses overtime, file with the Ministry of Employment and Labor through the customer counselling centre on 1350, which has foreign-language support, or at your local labour office (고용노동지청). The investigation costs you nothing. Keep contracts, payslips and bank records, because bank transfers create the evidence trail. The limitation period for unpaid wages is three years.

Sources: 최저임금위원회 (minimumwage.go.kr), 고용노동부, 근로기준법.

Last verified: 2026-09-28