Korean unemployment benefit
Daily job-seeking allowance at 60% of average wage, with duration set by age and insured period.
The Employment Insurance Act sets the daily allowance at 60% of average wage, between a floor and a ceiling. Duration runs from 120 to 270 days depending on age at separation and length of insured employment. The ceiling and floor change annually, so they are editable here rather than hard-coded — the defaults are the last values checked, and the current year's notice should be confirmed.
Wage and insured period
What you enter is saved in this browser, so it is still here next time
Gross.
It varies by month — 89 to 92 days.
Time covered by employment insurance.
Fifty and over lengthens the benefit duration.
Duration by age only.
Set by notice and can change yearly — enter the current figure.
80% of the minimum wage × 8 hours, so it moves with the minimum wage.
Amount
Expected total
₩11,554,560
The 60% figure falls below the floor, so the floor is paid.
Daily allowance
₩64,192
Days of benefit
180 days
Per 30 days
₩1,925,760
Daily average wage
₩97,826
60% of average wage
₩58,695
Duration comes from Schedule 1 of the Employment Insurance Act, by age and insured period — 120 to 270 days.
You need 180 insured days within the 18 months before separation, and leaving voluntarily generally disqualifies you. This screen makes no eligibility judgement.
The ceiling and floor change annually; the defaults are the last values checked, so confirm the current notice. Eligibility is decided by the employment centre.
60% of average wage, held between a ceiling and a floor
Three months' pay of 9,000,000 over 92 days gives a daily average of 97,826, and 60% of that is 58,695. That figure is checked against the ceiling and the floor — it is below the default floor of 64,192, so the daily amount becomes 64,192 and the page says the floor applied. With 12,000,000 over three months, 60% is 78,260 and the ceiling of 66,000 applies instead. The 60% is used as is only in the narrow band between the two, so most salaries land on one or the other. Fractions of a won are dropped.
Duration is read from a table of age and insured years
Insured years fall into five bands — under 1, 3, 5 and 10, and 10 or more. Under 50 at separation they give 120, 150, 180, 210 and 240 days; at 50 or over, or with a disability, 120, 180, 210, 240 and 270. Age 35 with 3 years is 180 days; age 52 with 3 years is 210. Boundaries are inclusive, so exactly 3 years is the 3-year band, while 2 years 11 months is the 1-year band's 150 days. The total is daily amount × days and the monthly figure is daily × 30 — 64,192 for 180 days is 11,554,560, or 1,925,760 a month.
The ceiling and floor are not hard-coded
Both change by annual notice, and the floor tracks 80% of the minimum wage × 8 hours. Written into the code they would go stale for months unnoticed, so both are editable fields whose defaults are the last values checked. Confirm the current year's notice, correct the two fields, and the rest follows. If the ceiling is entered below the floor, the ceiling check runs first and becomes the daily amount.
What it does not do
Eligibility is not assessed — the 180 insured days, the reason for leaving and job-search requirements are for the employment centre. Insured years are an input; previous jobs are not added up for you. The instalment schedule per recognition period, the early re-employment allowance, extended benefits and what happens to remaining days on taking a job are not covered. The total is what the full duration would pay.
Common questions
QIs everyone eligible?
No. You need at least 180 insured days within the 18 months before separation, and leaving voluntarily or being dismissed for your own misconduct generally disqualifies you. This screen computes amounts and durations only — eligibility is decided by the employment centre.
QWhy does almost everyone hit the ceiling?
Because the ceiling is a flat amount: once average wage passes a certain level, everyone receives the same daily figure. Above that point the ceiling, not the 60%, is what you actually get.
QIs it paid as a lump sum?
No. It is paid in instalments as each unemployment recognition period is confirmed. The total shown assumes the full duration is used; taking a job partway stops the remainder (an early re-employment allowance exists separately if the conditions are met).
QOn a salary of 3,000,000 a month, what is the benefit per month?
9,000,000 over 92 days is 97,826, and 60% is 58,695 — below the floor of 64,192, so the daily amount is 64,192. That is 1,925,760 for a 30-day month, and 11,554,560 over the 180 days for age 35 with 3 years. At 4,000,000 a month, 60% is 78,260 and the ceiling of 66,000 brings the month to 1,980,000.
QHow many more days from age 50?
Thirty more in each band from one insured year up: 3 years goes from 180 to 210 days, 10 years or more from 240 to 270. Under a year stays at 120. Age is taken at the separation date, so whether you are 50 on the day you leave is the dividing line, and a disability uses this row regardless of age.