Business support jobs in Korea: get real experience within the law

This guide is for people who want a business support job (경영지원) in Korea, such as accounting, HR, general affairs or legal work, including foreigners who live here. Employers look beyond certificates for real work experience, so start building it early. Do it within Korean law: some tasks need a licence, some "free help" is legally employment, and foreign nationals need the right stay status. Figures are as of 2026.

Why real experience wins

In 2025 the Ministry of Employment and Labor (고용노동부, MOEL) and the Korea Employment Information Service (한국고용정보원) surveyed Korea's 500 largest companies by sales, and 396 answered. 52.8% said they want expertise, judged mainly by major (22.3%), work experience such as internships (19.1%) and job-related training (17.4%). 85.4% said applicants' work experience helped them adapt after joining. To assess that experience, 84% look at its relevance to the job, 43.9% at the results achieved and 39.5% at whether the applicant has any. Among young employees, 80.2% said work experience before joining helped them at work.

Applicants tend to fall into two groups. One collects certificates and keeps sending applications. The other creates real work experience in whatever form it can. Someone who spends six months earning computerized accounting and tax certificates (전산회계, 전산세무) and an ERP certificate, without ever doing real accounting work, will tend to give textbook answers to practical interview questions.

Ways to get real experience

• Volunteer for nonprofits or social enterprises that need help with accounting, HR or general affairs.
• Take small projects through freelance platforms, but only work you may legally do (see the table below).
• Join startup events, industry seminars and job-related community meetings. Learn what companies need and offer specific help.
• Start small. A few hours of volunteering a week can lead to part-time work and then a full-time job.

Mid-career changers can use their industry knowledge and network. For example, someone moving from manufacturing into business support could help a manufacturing startup with management questions while learning the support work. Mentoring or advisory roles are another way in.

Stay within Korean law

On "free" work, the authorities look at how the work is actually done, not its label. In November 2025 MOEL issued a guideline on trainees before formal hiring: if such training is in practice like new-employee job training, with attendance control and similar elements of direction, the trainee should be recognized as a worker for that period (MOEL explanatory note, October 16, 2026). The minimum wage is ₩10,320 an hour in 2026 and ₩10,700 from January 1, 2027. See 2027 minimum wage ₩10,700: notify workers by December 31, 2026.

Safer routes are volunteering for nonprofits, paid part-time or intern roles, and working as staff at a licensed accounting, labour or law firm. If you are not Korean, check with the immigration office (출입국·외국인관서) that your stay status allows a side project or internship before you start.

Build a portfolio on real work

Interviewers value real problem solving more than polished but imaginary projects. A small project you actually did beats a perfect hypothetical one.

• Accounting: books you kept as staff of a small business count for more than textbook exercises.
• Legal: terms of service you drafted or freelance contracts you reviewed as in-house staff or an intern are more convincing than case analyses from a textbook.
• HR: hiring you actually ran for a small team, with its trial and error, beats a theoretical process design.

Networking and mindset

People who saw your work are witnesses to your skills, and their recommendations carry weight. Do not wait for the perfect job; start with what you can do now. Every company needs business support, so openings are relatively easy to find.

Real work also helps your confidence during a long search. In an interview, "I am currently supporting a startup's accounting" makes a very different impression from "I learned accounting", because you can share concrete, current examples.

Checklist

• List three organizations you could help in the next month.
• Before offering a service, check whether it counts as tax agency work, labour-law paperwork or legal services.
• If someone directs your work like an employee's, ask for a contract and at least the minimum wage.
• If you are not Korean, confirm that your stay status allows the activity, or get permission first.
• Record each project as problem, action and result.
• Stay in touch with the people who saw your work.