South Korea

South Korea's social insurance system (4대 보험) has four mandatory pillars, all shared between employer and employee except Industrial Accident Insurance, which is employer-only:

• National Pension (국민연금): 9.5% of standard monthly income total for 2026, split 4.75% employer / 4.75% employee. The total rate is scheduled to rise by 0.5 percentage points annually, reaching 13% by 2033 under the 2025 pension reform.
• National Health Insurance (건강보험): 7.19% of monthly wage for 2026, split 3.595% employer / 3.595% employee.
• Long-Term Care Insurance (노인장기요양보험): Calculated as 13.14% of the National Health Insurance premium for 2026 (approx. 0.94% of wages total), split equally between employer and employee.
• Employment Insurance (고용보험): Unemployment benefit portion is 0.9% employer / 0.9% employee; employers additionally pay an Employment Stability and Job Skills Development levy of 0.25%-0.85% depending on company size, bringing total employer Employment Insurance cost to roughly 1.15%-1.75%.

Contributions are calculated on standard monthly wage (capped) and remitted jointly by the employer each month.

Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance (산재보험) is a mandatory, no-fault insurance scheme covering nearly all businesses with at least 1 employee.

• Funded entirely by the employer — employees contribute nothing.
• The premium rate is set annually by industry risk classification and ranges from about 0.6% to 18.6% of payroll; the average rate has been held at 1.47% for 2026 (frozen for a third consecutive year).
• Covers medical treatment costs, temporary/permanent disability compensation, survivor benefits, and funeral expenses arising from work-related injury, illness, or death, including commuting accidents.
• Benefits are paid through the Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service (KCOMWEL) and generally replace an injured employee's right to sue the employer directly for the same harm (subject to certain exceptions for employer negligence).

South Korea mandates a statutory retirement/severance allowance (퇴직금, toejikgeum) under the Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act.

• Applies to any employee (including foreign employees and, on a pro-rated basis, part-timers working 15+ hours/week on average) who has completed 1 year or more of continuous service.
• Minimum statutory amount is 30 days' average wage for every year of continuous service (pro-rated for partial years).
• 'Average wage' is generally the total wages paid in the 3 months immediately preceding the last day of employment, divided by the number of calendar days in that period.
• Must be paid within 14 days of the termination date, extendable by mutual agreement.
• Owed regardless of the reason for termination, including resignation, expiry of a fixed term, or dismissal (including for cause) — it is treated as deferred wages, not a penalty against the employer.
• Employers may satisfy this obligation via a lump-sum payment or by maintaining a Defined Benefit (DB) or Defined Contribution (DC) retirement pension plan of at least equivalent value, at the employer's or (for DC) by mutual election.

There is no statutory 13th or 14th month salary requirement in South Korea.

• Any additional bonus payments (e.g., Seollal/Chuseok holiday bonuses, year-end or performance bonuses) are a matter of individual employment contract, company policy, or collective bargaining agreement rather than law.
• Where promised in a contract or established as a regular custom, such bonuses can become a binding contractual/customary obligation, but they are not a nationwide legal mandate.