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Unemployment benefit calculator

Work out the daily jobseeker's allowance, the number of benefit days and the total from your last 3 months' pay, age and insured period.

Your details

The last day you worked. Coverage ends the next day.

Add an earlier job only if you joined this job within 3 years of leaving it and did not receive jobseeker's allowance for it.

Average wage

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₩
₩
₩

If the average wage is lower than this, this amount is used.

For a weekly schedule: (weekly hours + paid holiday hours) ÷ 48 × 8, so 20 hours a week is 4 hours and 30 hours a week is 6 hours. Values are kept between 4 and 8.

Result

Enter the dates and pay to see the result.

Rules and sources

  • You need 180 insured paid days in the 18 months before the separation. Unpaid days such as unpaid Saturdays do not count, so 6 to 7 months of work may not be enough (Employment Insurance Act art. 40).
  • The separation must be involuntary: recommended resignation, dismissal for business reasons, end of contract, retirement age or closure. Quitting on your own is generally not covered, but valid reasons such as unpaid wages, worse working conditions or a very long commute count (Enforcement Rule Schedule 2). Dismissal for serious misconduct is not covered (art. 58).
  • Base daily wage = average wage for the 3 months before the separation, or the ordinary wage if higher, capped at 113,500 won for separations from 1 January 2026. Daily allowance = base × 60%, at least the minimum wage × daily hours × 80% (66,048 won for 8 hours) and at most 68,100 won (arts. 45 and 46, Enforcement Decree art. 68).
  • Daily contractual hours for a weekly schedule = (weekly hours + paid holiday hours) ÷ 48 × 8 (Enforcement Rule art. 91-2). Like the Work24 simulator, this calculator keeps it between 4 and 8 hours.
  • Benefit days by age on the separation date and insured period: under 50, 120 to 240 days; 50 or older, or a person with a disability, 120 to 270 days (Schedule 1).
  • The insured period is your time at this job plus an earlier job if you joined this job within 3 years and did not receive the allowance for that job (art. 50).
  • Register as a jobseeker on Work24 and apply at a job center. The first 7 days after you report unemployment are unpaid, and anything left after 12 months from the day after the separation is lost (arts. 48 and 49). The allowance is paid on each unemployment recognition day.
  • Someone first hired at 65 or older cannot get the allowance unless covered without a break since before 65 (art. 10(2)). Foreign workers are covered depending on their residence status.
  • Early re-employment allowance and extended benefits are not included. For separations from 1 January 2028 the base will change to insured earnings.

This is an estimate; the job center decides the actual amount. It is a guide, not legal advice.

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