Your Korean employment contract — what must be written down and handed to you

Almost every dispute a foreign worker in Korea ends up in starts the same way: what you were told before you came does not match what happens on the payslip.

Article 17 exists precisely for that gap, and complying with it is not optional for the employer.

Short answer

Must be stated    wages · contractual working hours · weekly holidays (Art. 55)
                  annual paid leave (Art. 60) · other conditions set by Decree
Must be HANDED    a document (electronic counts) containing the wage components,
                  how they are calculated and how they are paid, plus the above
On any change     the same duty applies again
If it is wrong    you may claim damages AND terminate the contract immediately
Penalty           fine of up to 5 million won (Art. 114)

Wages             in currency · directly to you · in full · at least once a month
Penalty           up to 3 years' imprisonment or a 30 million won fine (Art. 109)

Article 17 — two separate duties

Paragraph 1:

When concluding a labour contract, the employer shall specify the following to the worker. The same shall apply where the following are changed after the contract is concluded. 1. Wages 2. Contractual working hours 3. Holidays under Article 55 4. Annual paid leave under Article 60 5. Other working conditions prescribed by Presidential Decree

Paragraph 2:

The employer shall deliver to the worker a document (including an electronic document) stating the components of the wages, the method of calculation and the method of payment in relation to subparagraph 1, and the matters in subparagraphs 2 through 4.

Specifying (para 1) and delivering (para 2) are different obligations. A contract drafted, signed and then kept in the company's filing cabinet satisfies the first and breaches the second.

Note also what paragraph 2 demands about wages. Not a single number — components, calculation method, and payment method. Base pay, overtime, night premium and meal allowance have to be visible as separate things.

If the written conditions are not the truth

Article 19(1):

Where the working conditions specified under Article 17 differ from the facts, the worker may claim damages for the breach and immediately terminate the labour contract.

Paragraph 2 allows the damages claim to be filed with the Labour Relations Commission.

This is the provision for the situation foreign workers describe most often — the job that was promised at recruitment is not the job that exists. You are not stuck with it, and you do not have to work out a notice period to escape it.

For E-9 workers, being given false information about the dormitory that the employer does not correct is also a ground for changing workplace — see changing workplace on an E-9 if that is your situation.

Part-time work

Article 18(1) — a part-time worker's conditions must be set in proportion to the hours of a comparable full-time worker in the same kind of job.

Article 18(3) — under 15 contractual hours a week averaged over four weeks, Articles 55 (weekly paid holiday) and 60 (annual leave) do not apply. See annual paid leave.

The four wage principles

Article 43(1):

Wages shall be paid in currency, directly to the worker, in the full amount. Provided, that part of the wages may be deducted, or payment made in something other than currency, where there is a special provision in an Act or a collective agreement.

Article 43(2):

Wages shall be paid at least once a month on a fixed date.

Taken apart, each word does real work:

In currency   not goods, not vouchers, not "board and lodging instead of pay"
Directly      not to your family, not to a broker, not to the person who introduced you
In full       deductions need a basis in an Act or collective agreement
              (dormitory and meal charges are exactly where this gets tested)
Monthly       at least once a month, on a date fixed in advance

"Directly" is the one to watch. Where an interpreter, agent or team leader collects and passes on wages, that is a breach of Article 43(1) regardless of how convenient it looks — and it is how wage records go missing.

Penalties, and one thing that is in your hands

Article 114(1)   breach of Article 17  →  fine of up to 5 million won
Article 109(1)   breach of Art. 43 (wages), Art. 36 (settlement on leaving),
                 Art. 46 (shutdown allowance), Art. 56 (premiums)
                 →  up to 3 years' imprisonment or a 30 million won fine

Two further mechanisms sit behind those numbers — a limited say for the worker in whether a wage prosecution proceeds, and a public register of repeat wage defaulters. Both are set out in your payslip and unpaid wages.

Before you sign

1  Ask for the standard labour contract in your own language alongside the Korean.
2  Check that wage components are itemised, not summed into one figure.
3  If dormitory or meal costs will be deducted, get the basis and the amount in writing.
4  Keep every version — a change triggers the duty again, and versions are evidence.
5  Photograph what you sign before you hand it back.

Frequently asked questions

We agreed verbally. Is that enough? Not for the employer. Article 17(2) requires a written document to be delivered to you, and Article 114 attaches a penalty.

They changed my shift and pay without a new contract. The last sentence of Article 17(1) covers changes explicitly. A new written statement is due.

Can they take dormitory rent out of my wages? Only with a basis in an Act or a collective agreement, because of the "in full" principle. If it is simply deducted, ask 1350 about your case.

They pay every two months to "save transfer fees". Article 43(2) requires at least monthly payment on a fixed date.

Sources

Labor Standards Act (근로기준법)
   [in force 2026-08-20] [Act No. 21373, amended 2026-02-19]
   Art. 17 (statement of working conditions), paras 1 and 2
   Art. 18 (part-time workers) · Art. 19 (breach of stated conditions)
   Art. 43 (payment of wages) · Art. 114 (penalties)
   https://www.law.go.kr/법령/근로기준법

Ministry of Employment and Labour: 1350