HR Tips

l Labor Law update on Minimum Wages

The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) officially announced that the minimum hourly wage will increase from KRW 9,620 to KRW 9,860 effective from January 1, 2024 (the monthly minimum wage will be KRW 2,060,740 with 209 work hours under the labor laws of Korea). The requirement shall be applied equally across all industries.

	2023	2024	% increase
Minimum Hourly Wage	KRW 9,620	KRW 9,860	2.5%
Minimum Monthly Wage	KRW 2,010,580	KRW 2,060,740

 

 

l Overtime pay regulations under the Labor Standards Act of Korea

Under the Labor Standard Act (LSA) of Korea, employers must grant a paid off-day to employees working on the statutory holiday (such as Workers' Day on May 1).

If an employee works on statutory holidays, the employer must pay an overtime payment of at least 50% of the ordinary wage under Article 56 (Overtime, Night-time, and Holiday Work) of the LSA, and the calculation for overtime pay on statutory holiday should be as below.

(1) Overtime pay should be calculated at 150% of the hourly ordinary wage for the normal working hours (8 hours per day)

(2) 200% for any overtime work between 18:00 ~ 22:00

(3) 250% for overtime work after 22:00

For example, if an employee works for 9 hours on statutory holiday, the calculated overtime payment will be:

(8 hours * 150%) + (1 hour * 200%) = 14 hours

In addition, Article 57 (Compensatory Leave System) of the Labor Standards Act stipulates that compensatory leave shall be granted in lieu of payment for holiday work.

For example, if an employee works for 8 hours on the statutory holiday, the employer may either pay an additional 12 hours of wages (equivalent to 150% of the 8 hours worked) or grant 12 hours of compensatory leave in lieu of payment (MOEL Wage and Work Hour Policy Team - 2363, July 13, 2007).