Korean hiring rules: discrimination bans, job quotas, veteran referrals

This guide is for employers and HR staff who recruit in Korea. Korean law bans discrimination in hiring, limits what you may ask applicants, and sets employment duties that grow with company size. Most of these rules have been in force for years. For private employers, the main recent change is the age limit for veterans' children in special employment, raised from 35 to 39 on January 1, 2025. Figures are as of October 2026.

Discrimination bans in recruitment

Article 7 of the Framework Act on Employment Policy (고용정책 기본법) bars employers from discriminating in recruitment or hiring, without a reasonable reason, on the basis of sex, religion, age, physical condition, social status, region of origin, education, school, marriage, pregnancy or medical history. Providers of employment services have the same duty. That Act sets no penalty for Article 7; the fines come from the laws in the table. Article 2 of the Employment Security Act (직업안정법) adds a general equal treatment rule for job placement and hiring decisions.

The ban on job-unrelated looks, height, weight and unmarried conditions covers all applicants, men and women alike. A guideline of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (고용노동부, MOEL), Established Rule No. 207 (남녀고용평등 업무처리 규정, in force since August 17, 2023), lists examples: recruiting only one sex, quotas or separate recruitment by sex, extra documents for one sex, job titles that name one sex, and neutral criteria that one sex can hardly meet when the employer cannot prove they are justified. An age criterion is allowed only in narrow cases, for example when the nature of the job unavoidably requires it (Article 4-5 of the age act).

What you may not ask or take from applicants

The Fair Hiring Procedure Act (채용절차법) applies to businesses with 30 or more regular workers. Under Article 4-3, they may not require applicants to state in application documents, or prove, the following when the job does not need it:

1. the applicant's looks, height, weight or other physical conditions;
2. the applicant's region of origin, marital status or property;
3. the education, occupation or property of the applicant's lineal relatives (such as parents and children) and siblings.

The fine is up to ₩5,000,000 (Article 17).

Under the Personal Information Protection Act (개인정보 보호법), collect only the minimum you need (Article 16). When you rely on consent, tell applicants the purpose, the items, how long you keep them and that they may refuse (Article 15). To pass their data to another company with consent, also say who receives it, for what purpose and for how long (Article 17).

Article 32 of the Employment Security Act bars recruiters and their staff from taking money or any other benefit from applicants in connection with recruitment. The only exception is a registered fee-charging job placement business recruiting at an employer's request. The penalty is up to 5 years in prison or a fine up to ₩50,000,000 (Article 47). If you recruit people to work abroad, report it to MOEL within 15 days after recruiting (Article 30 and Enforcement Decree Article 31), or face a fine up to ₩1,000,000.

Older workers and people with disabilities

Older workers (고령자) are people aged 55 or over. Employers with 300 or more regular workers must try to employ them at a base rate: 2% of regular workers in manufacturing, 6% in transport and in real estate and leasing, and 3% in other industries. The rate is a duty of effort, but the annual report on older-worker employment is mandatory; not submitting it can cost up to ₩5,000,000 (Articles 12, 13 and 24).

Employers with 50 or more regular workers must employ disabled workers: 3.1% for private employers (unchanged since 2019) and 3.8% for public institutions (since 2024). A severely disabled worker counts twice, unless they work under 60 hours a month. Employers with 100 or more workers who fall short pay a levy for each missing person each month. The base amount (부담기초액) is set by MOEL notice at no less than 60% of the monthly minimum wage and can be raised by up to half depending on the employment rate. For a month with no disabled employee at all, it is the full monthly minimum wage, ₩2,156,880 in 2026. File and pay by January 31 of the next year (Article 33).

Veterans' employment duties

Under the Act on Persons of Distinguished Service to the State (국가유공자 등 예우 및 지원에 관한 법률), public and private companies and organizations that regularly employ 20 or more people a day are employment support institutions (취업지원 실시기관). Manufacturers with fewer than 200 employees are excluded (Article 30). Their duties:

• Recruitment exams: add 10% or 5% of full marks to eligible applicants, per test and per subject, except for subjects scored below 40% and tests that cannot be scored. Bonus holders may take at most 30% of planned places (Article 31). In private companies this covers every position (Enforcement Decree, Annex 8).
• Employment rate: 3%~8% of all employees by industry (Annex 9), for example 4% in computer programming and information services, 3% in professional services and 7% in finance (Article 33-2).
• Reports and referrals: when notified, report your business type, jobs and headcount within 30 days. If you are below your rate, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (국가보훈부) recommends up to five times as many candidates as you must hire. Choose within 1 month (extendable by up to 2 months by agreement) and hire within 30 days of the employment notice. Ignoring an employment order without good reason can cost up to ₩10,000,000; not reporting, up to ₩3,000,000 (Article 86).

From January 1, 2025, veterans' children can receive this special employment support (보훈특별고용) until age 39 instead of 35 (Enforcement Decree Article 56). The age rules for exam bonus points did not change.

Work rules

Employers with 10 or more regular workers must write work rules (취업규칙) and file them with MOEL (Labor Standards Act (근로기준법), Article 93). The rules must cover items such as working hours and leave, wages, retirement, maternity protection and work-family balance, safety, workplace harassment prevention, and rewards and discipline. Not filing can cost up to ₩5,000,000. When you write or change the rules, hear the opinion of a union of a majority of workers or, if there is none, of a majority of workers; changes that disadvantage workers need their consent (Article 94). MOEL posts a 2025 standard version you can adapt. Reflect recent leave changes: the 20-day paid leave for a spouse's childbirth is called 배우자 출산전후휴가 from September 18, 2026, and short parental leave of one or two weeks started on August 20, 2026. See File changed work rules on Form No. 15 with workers' opinion or consent.

Checklist

• Drop sex, age, looks and marital conditions from job ads unless the job truly needs them.
• With 30+ workers, remove questions on looks, birthplace, marital status, property and family from forms.
• Never take money from applicants.
• With 50+ workers, check the 3.1% disability rate; with 100+, budget for the levy and file by January 31.
• With 20+ daily staff (200+ in manufacturing), check your veteran rate and answer referrals within 1 month.
• With 10+ workers, update and file work rules after each law change.