Korea's 2027 Minimum Wage (KRW 10,700): Monthly Pay, Holiday Pay, Take-Home

On July 14, 2026, Korea's Minimum Wage Commission approved a proposed 2027 minimum wage of KRW 10,700 per hour. The Minister of Employment and Labor formally determined and announced the same rate on August 5. It is up 380 won, or 3.7%, from 10,320 in 2026. This guide walks through how an hourly wage converts into a monthly salary (the famous "209 hours"), who qualifies for weekly holiday pay, and what your actual monthly take-home looks like after insurance deductions — with every calculation shown.

1. How the Figure Was Decided

Each year, the 27-member Minimum Wage Commission (labor, employer, and public-interest representatives) deliberates the rate; the Ministry of Employment and Labor then formally determines and announces it before it takes effect on January 1. The Commission approved the 2027 proposal on July 14, 2026, and the Minister completed the determination and notice on August 5. It is a single nationwide rate for all industries. In a covered workplace, the rate does not change merely because a worker is full-time, fixed-term, part-time, or foreign. Statutory exclusions, including businesses using only cohabiting relatives, household employees, and seafarers covered by the Seafarers Act, must still be checked separately.

• 2027 minimum hourly wage: KRW 10,700 (+380 won, 3.7% vs. 2026's 10,320)
• Daily wage (8 hours): KRW 85,600
• Monthly equivalent (40-hour week, 209 hours/month): KRW 2,236,300
• Annualized: roughly KRW 26.8 million (2,236,300 × 12)

2. Hourly × 209 Hours = Monthly Pay? The Mystery of 209

"A 40-hour week should be about 160 hours a month, no?" The answer lies in weekly holiday pay (juhyu sudang). Under the Labor Standards Act, an employee who works all scheduled days in a week earns one paid rest day (usually Sunday). So a 40-hour week is actually paid as 48 hours (40 worked + 8 paid rest).

Converting that to a monthly figure:

• 365 days ÷ 7 = about 52.14 weeks per year → roughly 4.345 weeks per month
• 48 paid hours × 4.345 weeks ≈ 208.6 → rounded to 209 hours
• Monthly pay = 10,700 × 209 = KRW 2,236,300

Since the 2026 monthly equivalent was KRW 2,156,880 (10,320 × 209), 2027 brings a monthly raise of KRW 79,420.

3. Who Qualifies for Weekly Holiday Pay — Just Two Conditions

1. Contracted for 15 or more hours per week. This is based on your contract, not occasional overtime.
2. Perfect attendance on scheduled workdays that week. Being late or leaving early doesn't disqualify you — only unexcused absences do.

Part-timers working under 40 hours (but at least 15) get prorated holiday pay: (weekly contracted hours ÷ 40) × 8 hours × hourly wage. A 20-hour-per-week job earns (20 ÷ 40) × 8 × 10,700 = KRW 42,800 per week on top of hours worked.

4. Worked Example: Monthly Take-Home, Every Step Shown

Assumptions: 40-hour week, monthly pay of KRW 2,236,300 (fully taxable, no meal allowance), with yourself as the only dependent. The Ministry of Health and Welfare pension-reform schedule sets the 2027 National Pension rate at 10.0% in total, or 5.0% for an employee at a workplace. Other 2027 rates, including health, long-term care, and employment insurance, are not all final. For a consistent comparison, every line below deliberately uses 2026 rates and is an estimate, not a final 2027 take-home figure.

• National Pension 4.75%: 2,236,300 × 0.0475 = ~KRW 106,220
• Health Insurance 3.595%: 2,236,300 × 0.03595 = ~KRW 80,390
• Long-term Care (13.14% of health premium): 80,390 × 0.1314 = ~KRW 10,560
• Employment Insurance 0.9%: 2,236,300 × 0.009 = ~KRW 20,130
• Insurance total: ~KRW 217,300

Add withheld income tax of about KRW 26,000 (per the official simplified withholding table, one dependent) plus 10% local income tax (~KRW 2,600). Putting it together:

• KRW 2,236,300 − insurance ~217,300 − taxes ~28,600
• = monthly take-home of roughly KRW 1.99 million

If the same KRW 2,236,300 gross pay includes a KRW 200,000 meal allowance that satisfies the statutory tax-exemption conditions, this calculator's 2026-rate and withholding-table model increases take-home by about KRW 26,500. Actual insurance remuneration and withholding can differ with reporting, payment, and employer reconciliation. For an estimate using your dependents and eligible non-taxable items, use the Salary Calculator, and see the per-item insurance breakdown in the 4 Major Insurance Calculator.

5. A Note for Foreign Workers in Korea

Foreign nationals who work as employees in covered Korean workplaces generally receive the same minimum wage as Korean nationals; visa status does not by itself authorize a lower rate. This includes E-9 and H-2 workers and D-2 students working within permitted part-time conditions. Immigration permission and work-hour limits are separate questions. Weekly holiday pay and the probation rule below follow the same worker-status, scheduled-hours, attendance, and job-classification tests, while statutory exclusions such as household employees and seafarers still apply. If you are paid below the applicable minimum, contact a local labor office or the Ministry of Employment and Labor at 1350; keep your contract, schedules, pay statements, and time records.

6. What About Part-Timers Under 15 Hours a Week?

The statutory weekly-holiday rule does not apply when average weekly scheduled hours over four weeks are under 15, although every hour actually worked must still be paid at least KRW 10,700. Scheduled hours are the hours agreed in advance within the statutory limit, not simply total hours later worked. A 14-hour contract followed by an occasional 16-hour week therefore does not automatically create weekly holiday pay. If 16 hours became the continuing, agreed schedule despite the paperwork, whether the scheduled hours were substantively changed depends on the facts. Keep contracts, rosters, pay statements, and time records, and ask the labor office or 1350 when disputed.

7. Probation Discounts — When 90% Is Legal and When It Isn't

Probation does not automatically permit a pay cut. The 2027 rate may be reduced to 90% — KRW 9,630 — only during the first three months and only if all of the following hold:

• The employment contract runs for one year or longer — no discount on shorter contracts
• Only within the first 3 months of probation
• Never for simple-labor jobs — a worker whose actual principal duties fall in major group 9 of the Korean Standard Classification of Occupations must receive 100% even during probation. Do not classify all convenience-store, delivery, or restaurant jobs by title alone; check the actual duties against the official classification or Ministry guidance

Applying "90% for the first 3 months" without checking contract length, the probation start date, and actual job classification may violate the Minimum Wage Act. An invalid reduction leaves the minimum- wage shortfall payable, and a violation may carry up to three years' imprisonment or a KRW 20 million fine.

FAQ

Q. Which pay items count toward the minimum wage?

Since 2024, bonuses and welfare allowances such as meal or transport pay count in full only when they are wages paid in money at least once each month. In-kind benefits and reimbursements that are not wages do not count. Overtime/night/holiday premiums and bonuses paid less often than monthly also do not count. If your base pay is below minimum but "allowances make up for it," verify each item.

Q. Do workplaces with fewer than 5 employees have to comply?

Yes. Some Labor Standards Act provisions (like overtime premiums) don't apply to workplaces under 5 employees, but minimum wage and weekly holiday pay apply from the very first employee.

Q. When will the actual 2027 take-home be final?

The 2027 National Pension rate is already set under the pension-reform schedule at 10.0% in total, or 5.0% for an employee at a workplace. The remaining rates—including health, long-term care, and employment insurance—are finalized through their respective procedures. The table and calculation above use 2026 rates for all four items as a reference estimate; use the rates officially announced for 2027 when calculating an actual 2027 paycheck.