Korean ordinary wage calculator
Calculate Korean ordinary wage from regular, uniform pay for contractual work, using the revised Supreme Court standard.
Since the Korean Supreme Court ruling of 19 December 2024, fixedness is no longer a separate requirement. Check regularity, uniformity and payment for contractual work. An employment or attendance condition alone does not exclude a payment.
Pay items
paid on a set cycle
paid on a set cycle
paid on a set cycle · paid to all employees, or all meeting a stated condition · paid for contractual work; an employment condition alone does not exclude it
Contractual hours
209 for a 40-hour week.
Ordinary wage
Hourly
₩12,918
2 item(s) counted
- Monthly
- ₩2,700,000
- Daily
- ₩103,349
- One overtime hour
- ₩19,377
- Excluded
- ₩500,000
The test
It turns on all three being present, not on the item's name. Missing any one puts it outside ordinary wage.
In December 2024 the Supreme Court sitting en banc held that a regular bonus conditioned on current employment is not excluded from ordinary wage.
Each item depends on the works rules and how it is actually paid. Take disputes to a labour attorney or the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
Check each payment
Regular means paid on a recurring schedule; uniform means paid to all employees or all who meet the same conditions. Contractual work means payment for the agreed work itself. Separate expense reimbursements and payments earned only through additional performance. Consider a guaranteed minimum performance payment separately.
Worked example: ₩2,700,000 per month
Including ₩2,500,000 base pay and a qualifying ₩200,000 allowance, while excluding a ₩500,000 performance-only payment, gives ₩2,700,000. With 209 monthly hours and eight daily hours, the displayed hourly wage is ₩12,918 and daily wage ₩103,349. Fractions are retained during calculation and dropped in the displayed amounts.
209 hours is an example, not a universal rule
It assumes 40 working hours and eight paid weekly rest hours. Use the hours applicable to the contract, including the relevant paid hours. Convert annual bonuses to monthly amounts before entering them.
Current calculations and historical claims differ
This is a current-basis estimate, not a ruling on historical claims or pending cases affected by the 2024 judgment. Severance ordinarily uses average wage, with a separate rule when ordinary wage is higher. Check contracts, work rules and actual payment conditions.
Common questions
QMust I exclude a bonus paid only to current employees?
No. That condition alone does not exclude regular, uniform pay for contractual work.
QDo meal and travel allowances count?
Distinguish wages from reimbursement of actual expenses. Attendance conditions alone are not a reason to exclude a payment; consider its relationship to contractual work.
QIs my pay breakdown saved?
Items remain only in this page’s memory. Reloading restores the example; record any results you need separately.