2026 Korean Minimum Wage & Weekly Holiday Pay: Complete Guide

South Korea's Minimum Wage Commission deliberates and adopts the following year's minimum wage every June to July, and the Minister of Employment and Labor officially publishes it by August 5. The 2026 minimum hourly wage is finalized per Article 8 of the Minimum Wage Act and applies mandatorily to every workplace in Korea regardless of size or industry.

The minimum wage has climbed steadily over the past decade, with sharp increases in 2018 (16.4%) and 2019 (10.9%) followed by more moderate 3–5% annual growth from 2020 to 2025. The 2026 rate reflects deliberations balancing inflation, nominal wage growth, worker cost-of-living needs, and economic growth.

Weekly holiday pay (주휴수당, Juhyu-sudang) is a statutory paid-holiday benefit rooted in Article 55(1) of the Labor Standards Act. Employers must grant at least one paid day off per week to workers who fully attend all agreed working days that week; the pay received on that day is the weekly holiday allowance.

Two mandatory conditions apply: (1) contracted weekly working hours must total 15 or more, and (2) the worker must attend all scheduled working days that week without absence. Tardiness and early departure do not count as absences and do not disqualify entitlement, but any unauthorized full-day absence forfeits that week's holiday pay.

Consider a convenience store worker earning KRW 10,030 per hour (2025 rate) and working 4 hours × 5 days = 20 hours per week.

Weekly base pay = 20 × 10,030 = 200,600 KRW. Weekly holiday pay = (20 ÷ 40) × 8 × 10,030 = 40,120 KRW. Total weekly wage = 240,720 KRW. Estimated monthly wage = 240,720 × 4.345 weeks ≈ 1,045,928 KRW.

Under 3.3% withholding, take-home is 1,045,928 × 0.967 ≈ 1,011,409 KRW. Under full 4 major insurances (~9.4% deduction), take-home is 1,045,928 × 0.906 ≈ 947,613 KRW deposited to your bank account.

Article 56 of the Labor Standards Act mandates a 50% premium on top of ordinary wages (i.e., 1.5× hourly rate) for night work (22:00–06:00), overtime beyond 8 hours per day, and holiday work. However, this obligation applies only to workplaces with 5 or more regular employees.

Small workplaces (cafés, convenience stores, small restaurants with fewer than 5 employees) have no legal obligation to pay premium rates. This is a critical detail to verify before signing an employment contract.

When night work and overtime overlap (e.g., working 21:00–24:00 with 22:00–24:00 being both night and overtime), both premiums stack for an effective 200% rate.

Short-term part-time and freelance workers often prefer 3.3% (3% business income tax + 0.3% local tax) withholding because it produces higher immediate take-home pay and skips the enrollment procedures for social insurances.

However, working 60 or more hours per month legally triggers mandatory enrollment in the 4 major insurances: National Pension, Health Insurance, Employment Insurance, and Industrial Accident Insurance. Employment Insurance particularly provides unemployment benefits up to 9 months at 60% of average wages if you lose your job involuntarily—a substantial long-term benefit.

Rule of thumb: choose 3.3% for engagements shorter than 3 months, and 4 major insurances for jobs lasting 6 months or longer. Use the calculator below to simulate exact take-home under each scenario.

These 8 items must be verified before signing an employment contract or accepting a paystub in South Korea.