Mitra KoreaRead your 급여명세서 (payslip) line by line — you can get back missing pay and wrong deductions
How to check each pay line and each deduction line, one by one, to find missing allowances and money taken by mistake.
Quick summary
- A 급여명세서 (payslip) has two parts: 지급 (payments, the money you should get) and 공제 (deductions, the money taken out). Total payments − total deductions = 실수령액 (take-home pay). This amount must come into your bank account.
- The company must give you a payslip every time it pays you. This is the same for workplaces with fewer than 5 workers (근로기준법 (Labor Standards Act) Article 48(2), from November 19, 2021).
- The company can take out of your pay only taxes, 4대보험 (the four social insurances) premiums (but not industrial accident insurance), and costs you agreed to in writing, such as housing and food. It cannot take fines or money for damages.
- If you are a Nepali citizen, as a rule, national pension should not be taken out. Nepal is a country not covered by 국민연금 (National Pension).
- The company can cut your pay for the hours you left early or came late. But leaving early is not an absence. So the company must not also cut your 주휴수당 (weekly holiday pay).
When does this apply to you?
- The money in your bank account is less than you expected
- There is a line on the payslip you do not understand
- Money was cut because you left early, came late, or took days off
- You worked overtime or at night, but the extra pay looks too small
- The company does not give you a payslip
What the payslip must show
Under 근로기준법 시행령 (Enforcement Decree of the Labor Standards Act) Article 27-2, the payslip must show: information that identifies you, the pay date, the total pay, the amount for each pay item, the amount for each deduction item, and the total deductions. The most important points are below.
- For items that change with the number of days or hours you worked, the payslip must show how it was calculated.
- For overtime, night work and holiday work, it must also show the number of hours.
You can only check your pay if you can see the hours and the calculation, for example "leaving early 7 hours". If there is no calculation method, you can ask the company.
Payment lines, one by one
| Line | What to check |
|---|---|
| 기본급 (basic pay) | For 40 hours a week, check that it is at least 2,156,880원 in 2026. If it is less, add the meal money and bonuses you get in cash every month, and compare again. See How to check in 30 seconds if your pay meets the minimum wage. |
| 주휴수당 (weekly holiday pay) | If you are paid monthly (209 hours a month), it is already included in basic pay. If you are paid by the hour, it must be a separate line. |
| 연장근로수당 (overtime pay) | Hours worked over 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week. You get your 통상임금 (ordinary wage) plus 50%, so 1.5 times. |
| 야간근로수당 (night work pay) | Hours worked between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. You get 50% of your ordinary wage extra. |
| 휴일근로수당 (holiday work pay) | Up to 8 hours: 1.5 times. The part over 8 hours: 2 times. |
| 식대 (meal money) and other allowances | Check that the amount is the same as in your contract. |
If your ordinary hourly wage is 10,320원, 1 hour of overtime is 15,480원. Extra pay applies to workplaces with 5 or more regular workers. In farming, livestock and fishing, extra pay for overtime and holiday work does not apply (근로기준법 Article 63). But if there are 5 or more regular workers, extra pay for night work does apply. To check if your work is in this group, call 1577-0071. For detailed calculations, see How to calculate overtime, night and holiday pay.
Deduction lines, one by one (2026)
| Line | Your share | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| 건강보험 (health insurance) | 3.595% of pay | The rate is 7.19%. You and the company each pay half. |
| 장기요양보험 (long-term care insurance) | About 13.14% of the health insurance premium | The 2026 rate is 0.9448%. You and the company each pay half. |
| 고용보험 (employment insurance) | 0.9% of pay | For E-9, the unemployment benefit part is taken only if you applied for it. |
| 국민연금 (national pension) | 4.75% of pay | Nepali citizens are not covered. |
| 소득세 (income tax) | Simple tax table for wage income | Taken according to the table of the 국세청 (National Tax Service). |
| 지방소득세 (local income tax) | 10% of income tax | Check that it is one tenth of the income tax line. |
| 기숙사비·식비 (dormitory and food costs) | The amount you agreed to | Only an amount you agreed to in writing can be taken. |
| 산재보험 (industrial accident insurance), 출국만기보험 (departure guarantee insurance) | 0원 | The company pays these. They must not be in the deductions part. |
| 귀국비용보험 (return cost insurance), 상해보험 (accident insurance) | Needs checking | The worker pays these. If they were taken from your pay, call 1577-0071 to check if you agreed and if the amount is right. |
| Fines, work clothes cost, damage money | 0원 | These are illegal deductions. |
A rough calculation. If your pay is 2,156,880원, health insurance is about 77,500원, long-term care insurance is about 10,200원, and employment insurance is about 19,400원. Because of how the last digits are rounded, the payslip may differ by a few tens of won. "Pay" here includes basic pay and allowances. But money that is not taxed (such as tax-free meal money) is not included (국민건강보험법 시행령 (Enforcement Decree of the National Health Insurance Act) Article 33). The premium is based on your "보수월액" (monthly pay base) (국민건강보험법 (National Health Insurance Act) Article 70). So it may be a little different from a calculation using this month's pay. If it is very different, ask the 국민건강보험공단 (National Health Insurance Service).
National pension depends on your nationality. In the list of the 국민연금공단 (National Pension Service) (as of March 19, 2026), Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Pakistan are not covered. Citizens of Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and the Philippines must join if they work at a company. The 2026 rate is 9.5%, and the worker and the company each pay half. If you have another nationality, or to check if the list has changed, call the 국민연금공단 at 1355.
Employment insurance. The worker's share is 0.9%, which is half of the unemployment benefit rate of 1.8%. For E-9, the unemployment benefit and parental leave benefit parts apply only if you applied for them (고용보험법 (Employment Insurance Act) Article 10-2).
Fines and damage money. To learn why it is illegal to take late fines, work clothes costs or money for damaged products, see Taking late fines, work clothes costs or damage money from your pay is illegal.
Example: Is "leaving early 7 hours −72,240원" correct?
This is a real question we received. The payslip shows: basic pay 2,156,880원, leaving early 7 hours −72,240원, total deductions 112,370원, take-home pay 1,980,010원.
- Find the hourly wage. 2,156,880원 ÷ 209 hours = 10,320원.
- Calculate the money cut. 7 hours × 10,320원 = 72,240원. The multiplication is correct. But you cannot say the deduction is correct before you check steps 3 and 4 below. This is because only the hours you really did not work can be cut.
- Check the hours. Compare with your own work records (photos of the work schedule, entry records, your notes). If you really left 6 hours early, only 61,920원 should be cut.
- Check who sent you home. If you left early because you wanted to, it is leaving early. If the company sent you home saying "there is no work", it may be a 휴업 (shutdown, a day off because of the company's situation). At a workplace with 5 or more regular workers, as a rule you should get 휴업수당 (shutdown allowance, at least 70% of your average wage) (근로기준법 Article 46). See the article If the company said "no work, go home" and then marked it as leaving early.
- Check if weekly holiday pay was also cut. Leaving early and coming late are not absences. The 고용노동부 (Ministry of Employment and Labor) says that even if your early-leave hours in one week add up to 8 hours, you must get weekly holiday pay if you had no absent days. If the money cut is not 72,240원 but 154,800원 (7 hours + 8 hours of weekly holiday pay, 82,560원), it is wrong.
- Check the totals. 2,156,880 − 72,240 − 112,370 = 1,972,270원. This is 7,740원 different from the take-home pay on the payslip, 1,980,010원. Look again for other payment lines (allowances, etc.) on the payslip. If there are no other lines and the numbers do not match, you can ask the company how it was calculated.
What to do when you find a mistake
- Take a photo of your payslip every month. Also save your bank deposit records.
- Ask by text message. Send: "How did you calculate ○○원 for the ○○ item on the payslip for month ○?" The answer becomes evidence.
- Check insurance premiums with the agencies. Health insurance and long-term care insurance: 국민건강보험공단 1577-1000. National pension: 1355. Employment insurance: 근로복지공단 (Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service) 1588-0075.
- Get advice. With your payslip in front of you, call 1577-0071 (Nepali). If you and your boss cannot understand each other, you can get interpretation through a 3-way call with 1577-0071. 1350 gives advice in Korean. When you call 1350 or an agency and Korean is hard for you, you can ask 1345 for 3-way interpretation. Nepali help at 1345 is only on weekdays, 09:00~18:00.
- If it is not fixed, file a 진정 (complaint). Money taken by mistake is also unpaid wages. You can file online at the 노동포털 (Labor Portal, labor.moel.go.kr). See How to report unpaid wages.
- Get advice quickly about old money. Your right to claim wages ends 3 years after each payday (근로기준법 Article 49).
What to prepare
- 급여명세서 (payslips) for several months
- Bank deposit records
- 근로계약서 (employment contract) (standard employment contract), agreement for housing and food costs (if you have one)
- Work time records: photos of the work schedule, entry records, your own notes
- Text or KakaoTalk messages telling you to go home early or take a day off
Be careful
- Do not look only at the amount in your bank account. Look at the amount before deductions and at each deduction line separately.
- If the company does not give you a payslip, it can get a fine of up to 5,000,000원 (근로기준법 Article 116). Ask by text message, "Please give me my 임금명세서 (pay statement)", and keep the record.
- Do not sign papers that are not true. If the company sent you home because there was no work but asks you to sign a paper saying "left early for personal reasons", you can say that it is not true.
- At workplaces with fewer than 5 workers, extra pay for overtime, night and holiday work and shutdown allowance do not apply. Getting a payslip, getting full pay, and weekly holiday pay do apply.
- Do not stop going to work because of a payslip problem. If you stop going to work without saying anything, it can be counted as absence without permission. If you are absent for 5 days or more without proper process, the company can report an employment change (leaving the workplace) to the 고용센터 (Employment Center). You can get advice and file a complaint while you keep working.
- Income tax for the whole year is calculated again with your February pay of the next year (연말정산, year-end tax settlement). It is also calculated again in the month you leave the company. So in those months, the income tax line may be different from usual.
Frequently asked questions
Q. I am Nepali, but national pension is being taken from my pay. A. In the 국민연금공단 list, Nepal is not covered. As a rule, it should not be taken. Call 1355 to check your pension record, and ask the company why.
Q. The company says "3 times leaving early = 1 day absent". A. The 고용노동부 says that coming late, leaving early and going out during work are not counted as absences. Pay for the hours you did not work can be cut. But treating it as an absence and cutting weekly holiday pay is not right.
Q. Employment insurance is taken from my pay. Do E-9 workers pay it too? A. If you joined the unemployment benefit part, you pay 0.9%. If you do not remember applying, ask the company. You can check if the employment insurance premium is correct with the 근로복지공단 at 1588-0075.
Q. My payslip is in Korean, so it is hard to read. A. Call 1577-0071 with your payslip in front of you. You can ask about each line in Nepali. 1345 also gives help in Nepali on weekdays, 09:00~18:00.
Where to get help
| Organization | Phone / website | What they do |
|---|---|---|
| 외국인력상담센터 (Foreign Workers Counseling Center) | 1577-0071 | Advice in Nepali, payslip checks, 3-way call interpretation with your boss. 365 days, 09:00~18:00 (Saturdays and public holidays: staff on duty) |
| 고용노동부 고객상담센터 (Ministry of Employment and Labor Call Center) | 1350 | Advice on deductions, allowances and complaints. Korean, weekdays 09:00~18:00 |
| 외국인종합안내센터 (Immigration Contact Center) | 1345 | 20 languages (including Nepali). Weekdays 09:00~22:00; after 18:00 only Korean, English and Chinese. Closed on weekends and public holidays. You pay for the call |
| 국민건강보험공단 | 1577-1000 | Check health and long-term care insurance premiums. Weekdays 09:00~18:00 |
| 국민연금공단 | 1355 | Check if you are in the national pension |
| 근로복지공단 | 1588-0075 | Check employment insurance premiums |
| 고용노동부 노동포털 (Labor Portal) | labor.moel.go.kr | File a complaint online |