Living in Korea — a plain guide https://koreasteps.com/en/ Korean rules for foreign workers, with article numbers: which visas allow work, extension fees, health insurance, and what you get back when you leave. en The alien registration card — the 90-day rule and what missing it costs https://koreasteps.com/en/alien-registration-card/ https://koreasteps.com/en/alien-registration-card/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0900 Staying over 90 days means registering within 90 days of arrival. Moving means reporting within 15 days. Being dismissed in Korea — 30 days' notice, in writing, or it does not count https://koreasteps.com/en/dismissal-in-korea/ https://koreasteps.com/en/dismissal-in-korea/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0900 Dismissal needs just cause, 30 days' notice or 30 days of ordinary wage instead, and written notice of the reason and date. Changing workplace on an E-9 — the reasons that do not use up a count https://koreasteps.com/en/e9-changing-workplace/ https://koreasteps.com/en/e9-changing-workplace/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0900 You get three changes, plus two more after re-employment. But changes for reasons that are not your fault do not count at all, and the notice lists them. Giving birth in Korea as a foreigner — nationality, insurance, and the 90-day rule https://koreasteps.com/en/giving-birth-in-korea/ https://koreasteps.com/en/giving-birth-in-korea/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0900 Being born in Korea does not make a child Korean — Article 2 follows blood, not soil. The child needs a status of stay within 90 days. Childbirth is insured. Rental deposit protection in Korea — what foreigners must do https://koreasteps.com/en/jeonse-deposit-protection/ https://koreasteps.com/en/jeonse-deposit-protection/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0900 Deposit protection starts the day after you register your address. Foreigners have no resident registration — Immigration Act Article 88-2 substitutes it. Annual paid leave in Korea — you earn a day a month before your first year is up https://koreasteps.com/en/korea-annual-leave/ https://koreasteps.com/en/korea-annual-leave/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0900 15 days after a year with 80% attendance, and one day per full month worked before that. Three years of service adds a day every two years, capped at 25. Your Korean employment contract — what must be written down and handed to you https://koreasteps.com/en/korea-employment-contract/ https://koreasteps.com/en/korea-employment-contract/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0900 Article 17 requires wages, hours, holidays and annual leave in a written document given to you, and again whenever they change. Korean health insurance — what foreigners pay, and the one part you can opt out of https://koreasteps.com/en/korea-health-insurance/ https://koreasteps.com/en/korea-health-insurance/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0900 Employees pay 4.0674% of monthly pay and enrolment is automatic. E-9, E-10, H-2, D-3 and E-8 holders can apply to drop long-term care insurance. Income tax in Korea — the rate table, and why the 19% flat rate is usually a trap https://koreasteps.com/en/korea-income-tax-rates/ https://koreasteps.com/en/korea-income-tax-rates/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0900 Stay 183 days and you are a resident, taxed exactly like a Korean on the same table. The 19% flat option for foreigners applies to gross pay and strips every. Korea's minimum wage — which parts of your pay actually count towards it https://koreasteps.com/en/korea-minimum-wage/ https://koreasteps.com/en/korea-minimum-wage/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0900 A contract below the minimum is void and replaced by the legal minimum. Overtime premiums do not count towards the minimum wage at all. What Korea takes out of your pay — and why the pension line grows every year https://koreasteps.com/en/korea-salary-deductions/ https://koreasteps.com/en/korea-salary-deductions/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0900 2026 employee rates: pension 5%, health 3.595%, care 0.4724%, employment 0.9%. Industrial accident costs you nothing. The pension rate rises yearly to 2029. Korean visa fees — the official table and the 20% online discount https://koreasteps.com/en/korea-visa-fees/ https://koreasteps.com/en/korea-visa-fees/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0900 An extension of stay costs 60,000 won, or 30,000 for F-6 holders, and filing online through HiKorea takes 20% off. Full table from Article 72. Working hours and overtime in Korea — the limits bind the employer https://koreasteps.com/en/korea-working-hours-overtime/ https://koreasteps.com/en/korea-working-hours-overtime/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0900 40 hours a week and 8 hours a day, with overtime capped at 12 hours a week even by agreement. Your payslip and unpaid wages — the document they must give you, and the 3-year clock https://koreasteps.com/en/payslip-and-wage-arrears/ https://koreasteps.com/en/payslip-and-wage-arrears/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0900 Since 2021 employers must hand you an itemised payslip in writing every payday, and unpaid wages expire after three years. Getting your Korean pension back — three routes, and only one is about your visa https://koreasteps.com/en/pension-lump-sum-refund/ https://koreasteps.com/en/pension-lump-sum-refund/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0900 The Act excludes foreigners from lump-sum refunds, then reopens it three ways: reciprocity, treaty, or holding E-9 or H-2. Any one is enough. Sending money home from Korea — the rules that apply to foreigners, not Koreans https://koreasteps.com/en/sending-money-home-from-korea/ https://koreasteps.com/en/sending-money-home-from-korea/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0900 The famous 100,000 dollar allowance excludes foreign residents by its own wording. With proof of salary there is no separate cap; without it, 50,000. Severance pay in Korea — who gets it, how much, and when it must be paid https://koreasteps.com/en/severance-pay-korea/ https://koreasteps.com/en/severance-pay-korea/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0900 One year of service and 15 hours a week qualify you. The formula is 30 days of average wage per year, payable within 14 days of leaving. Unemployment benefit in Korea — who qualifies, how much, and the E-9 catch https://koreasteps.com/en/unemployment-benefit-korea/ https://koreasteps.com/en/unemployment-benefit-korea/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0900 E-9/H-2 workers qualify only if they applied in advance — Article 10-2. You need 180 insured days in 18 months and a non-voluntary exit. 60% rate, 120–270 days. Which Korean visa lets you work — the one article that decides it https://koreasteps.com/en/which-visa-can-work/ https://koreasteps.com/en/which-visa-can-work/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0900 Article 23 of the Immigration Decree settles it: E-1 to E-10 and H-2 may work within their status; F-5 and F-6 freely; D-2, D-4, F-1, G-1 need prior permission. Work injury compensation in Korea — the Act never asks your nationality https://koreasteps.com/en/work-injury-compensation-korea/ https://koreasteps.com/en/work-injury-compensation-korea/ Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0900 Cover applies to every workplace with employees and has no nationality condition. The employer pays the whole premium; you get 70% of average wage.