2026 Minimum Wage and How to Calculate Your Monthly Pay

Who does this apply to?

It applies to all foreign workers with a work visa, such as E-9, H-2, and E-7. It also applies at workplaces with fewer than 5 workers, to part-time jobs, and during probation or trial periods. If your employment contract sets pay lower than the minimum wage, that part of the contract is void (has no legal effect). The law treats it as if you were promised the minimum wage (최저임금법 제6조, Minimum Wage Act Article 6).

How to calculate

1. Monthly amount

10,320원 per hour × 209 hours = 2,156,880원

209 hours is the number of paid hours in a month when you work 40 hours a week. It is your actual work hours (40 hours a week) plus paid weekly holiday hours (8 hours a week). So this monthly pay already includes weekly holiday pay (주휴수당).

2. Weekly holiday pay (주휴수당)

If your contracted work hours are 15 hours or more a week, and you work every scheduled day that week, you get at least 1 paid day off per week on average. The money for this day is weekly holiday pay (근로기준법 제55조, Labor Standards Act Article 55).

Weekly holiday hours = contracted work hours per week ÷ 40 × 8

Work hours per week	Weekly holiday hours	Weekly pay (10,320원 per hour)
40 hours	8 hours	40 hours 412,800원 + holiday pay 82,560원 = 495,360원
30 hours	6 hours	309,600원 + 61,920원 = 371,520원
20 hours	4 hours	206,400원 + 41,280원 = 247,680원
12 hours	None	123,840원 (less than 15 hours, so no weekly holiday pay)

If you are paid by the hour or by the day, weekly holiday pay must be calculated separately. Check that your 급여명세서 (payslip) has a line for weekly holiday pay.

3. Probation pay cut

Even during probation, your employer can pay 90% of the minimum wage (9,288원 per hour in 2026) only if all three of these are true:

1. Your employment contract is for 1 year or longer
2. It is within 3 months from the day probation started
3. Your job is not simple manual labor

Simple manual labor means jobs in major group 9 of the Korean Standard Classification of Occupations. This includes basic construction work, loading and moving goods, cleaning and street cleaning, kitchen helper work, and gas station work. For these jobs, you must get 100% of the minimum wage even during probation. Many E-9 workers do this kind of work, so be sure to check.

If your employment contract is shorter than 1 year, your employer cannot cut your pay because of probation. After 3 months, they must pay 100%.

Deductions for housing and meals

• A dormitory and meals given as goods or services do not count toward the minimum wage. For example, an employer cannot say, "I pay you 1.8 million won a month and give you a dormitory and meals, so I meet the minimum wage." This is because pay given in something other than money (goods or services) is not included in the minimum wage calculation.
• Meal and transportation allowances paid in cash every month on a regular basis are fully counted toward the minimum wage, for payments made from January 1, 2024.
• To take housing and meal costs out of your pay, your employer needs your written consent. The 2017 guideline on collecting housing and meal costs was cancelled on November 27, 2023. Now the rule is that the employer must give you dormitory information in advance. Changing costs like electricity, gas, and water are settled later, based on what you actually used.
• If money was taken out without your consent, or much more than the real cost was taken, this can be treated as unpaid wages (임금체불).

Payslip

Each time your employer pays you, they must give you a payslip in writing (electronic documents included) (근로기준법 제48조 제2항, Labor Standards Act Article 48 Paragraph 2). It can be on paper, by text message, KakaoTalk, or email.

The payslip must show the parts that make up your pay, how it was calculated, and what was deducted. If the employer does not give one, they can be fined per worker: 300,000원 the 1st time, 500,000원 the 2nd time, and 1,000,000원 the 3rd time or more.

Your payslip is the most important evidence if you later have a dispute about unpaid wages or allowances. Take a photo of it every time you get one and save it.

Be careful

• It can be a violation even if your monthly pay is more than 2,156,880원. If you work many overtime, night, or holiday hours, your pay per hour may be below the minimum wage. Extra pay for overtime, night, and holiday work is not counted in the minimum wage calculation.
• A minimum wage violation can be punished even if you do not want it punished. Even if you later get the missing money or make an agreement with your boss, punishment can still go ahead separately.
• Paying less than the minimum wage can lead to up to 3 years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won (최저임금법 제28조, Minimum Wage Act Article 28). Prison and a fine can both be given.
• Your employer must post the minimum wage where workers can see it, or tell workers about it.

Frequently asked questions

Q. How can I check if my pay breaks the minimum wage law? A. Take the pay you got for one month (not including extra pay for overtime and some bonuses). Divide it by your contracted work hours for that month to get your hourly pay. Compare it with 10,320원. If the calculation is hard, take your payslip and your 근로계약서 (employment contract) and call 1577-0071 or 1350.

Q. I was paid less than the minimum wage. Can I get the past money too? A. You can claim the missing amount. The time limit for wage claims is 3 years, so you can claim up to the last 3 years. If the company does not pay, you can file a complaint on the Labor Portal (노동포털).

Q. My employment contract shows an hourly wage below the minimum wage, and I signed it. A. Even if you signed it, that part is void (has no legal effect). The law treats it as if you were promised the minimum wage, so you can claim the missing amount.

Q. My employer says I am on probation and has paid me only 90% for more than 3 months. A. The probation pay cut is allowed for 3 months at most. From the 4th month, you must get 100%. The missing amount counts as unpaid wages.

Q. Is my 2026 monthly pay exactly 2,156,880원 every month? A. This amount is based on 40 hours a week and 209 hours a month. If your work hours are different or you work overtime, the amount will be different.

Where to get help

Organization	Phone	What they do
외국인종합안내센터 (Immigration Contact Center)	1345	Help in 20 languages (Nepali on weekdays 09:0018:00). 3-way interpreting when you call public offices. Weekdays 09:0022:00, closed on public holidays
외국인력상담센터 (Foreign Workers Counseling Center)	1577-0071	Labor counseling in many languages, including Nepali. Every day of the year, 09:00~18:00
고용노동부 고객상담센터 (Ministry of Employment and Labor Call Center)	1350	Help with the minimum wage and pay
고용노동부 노동포털 (Ministry of Employment and Labor, Labor Portal)	labor.moel.go.kr	Minimum wage information, filing complaints