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Ordinary wage calculator

Work out the Korean ordinary hourly and daily wage from each pay item, under the Supreme Court ruling of 19 December 2024.

Scheduled hours

Enter hours as

Hours:minutes, such as 8:00 or 35:00, without overtime.

Hours paid without work, such as 4 paid hours on Saturday. A 40 hour week with 4 paid Saturday hours gives 226 hours, with 8 hours 243 hours.

If a set overtime allowance is built into the monthly pay, enter those weekly overtime hours. Overtime hours × 1.5 (1.0 with 4 or fewer employees) × 365 ÷ 7 ÷ 12 are added to the base hours.

Regular employees

More settings

Used to work out weekly holiday hours and the daily hours of part-time staff, usually 5 (Enforcement Decree table 2).

By default the base hours are rounded to the nearest hour (209), as the Ministry of Employment and Labor does.

Pay items

  • ₩

    Paid regularly and to everyone for scheduled work.

  • ₩

    Paid every month to all who meet the condition.

  • ₩

    Counts even with a condition of being employed on the payday (Supreme Court en banc, 19 December 2024).

Ordinary wage

Ordinary hourly wage16,268 won
Ordinary daily wage130,144 won
Monthly ordinary wage3,400,000 won
Hours to divide by209 h
Monthly base hours(40 h scheduled + 8 h weekly holiday + 0 h other paid) × 365 ÷ 7 ÷ 12 = 208.57 h → 209 h
209 h
Ordinary hourly wage3,400,000 won ÷ 209 h = 16,267.94 won → 16,268 won
16,268 won
Ordinary daily wage16,268 won × 8 h = 130,144 won
130,144 won
ItemPaidPer monthOrdinary wage
Base pay3,000,000 won3,000,000 wonCounts
Fixed allowance (duty, position, license, hazard)200,000 won200,000 wonCounts
Regular bonus2,400,000 won200,000 wonCounts

How it is calculated

  • The ordinary wage is pay set to be paid regularly and uniformly for scheduled work (Labor Standards Act Enforcement Decree art. 6(1)).
  • The Supreme Court en banc ruling of 19 December 2024 dropped the fixedness test, so bonuses and allowances with a condition of being employed or of working days within the scheduled workdays are ordinary wages. It applies from 19 December 2024 onward.
  • Hourly wage = monthly ordinary wage ÷ monthly base hours [(weekly scheduled + weekly holiday + other paid hours) × 365 ÷ 7 ÷ 12]. Pay set per quarter or year is divided by its number of months (Enforcement Decree art. 6(2)).
  • Scheduled hours are capped at 40 a week and 8 a day (art. 50). Weekly holiday hours are weekly scheduled hours ÷ 5 when they are 15 or more (art. 18(3), art. 55(1)).
  • Daily ordinary wage = ordinary hourly wage × scheduled hours per day (Enforcement Decree art. 6(3)). Part-time staff use weekly scheduled hours ÷ workdays of full-time staff (Enforcement Decree table 2).
  • The hourly wage is rounded to the won. Overtime, night and holiday pay, unused leave pay and pay in lieu of dismissal notice are based on the ordinary wage.

This is a guide, not legal advice. Whether an item counts depends on its actual payment terms.

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