First employee
Configure contract, payroll, insurance and time records.
South Korea EOR Guide
Hiring in South Korea: employment terms, four insurances and severance
South Korea hiring should align the written employment conditions, working-time process, statutory insurance enrollment, payroll withholding and retirement-benefit treatment.
Employment system
What shapes a South Korea hiring plan
TermsProvide written wage and working-condition information
InsuranceCheck enrollment in the applicable statutory schemes
Work rulesReview establishment-level rules and filing duties
ExitAssess notice, grounds and retirement benefits
These are planning inputs. Employee category, location, compensation, immigration status, collective terms and later rule changes can alter the required process.
Hiring decision
Use establishment size and worker status as setup inputs
Growing establishment
Review work-rule, employee-representative and working-hours requirements.
Foreign national
Confirm visa scope, employer and role before the start.
Country-specific workflow
The records and decisions that need separate review
Written conditions and actual hours must align
Record wages, calculation method, pay date, hours, holidays, leave and workplace. Set a reliable time-recording and overtime-approval process.
If work rules apply, make individual terms and manager practice consistent with them.
Primary reference: Ministry of Employment and Labor
Payroll connects withholding and statutory insurance
Determine coverage for national pension, health, employment and industrial-accident insurance using employee and establishment facts. Configure payroll codes and registration ownership.
Reconcile payroll results, insurance submissions, withholding and accounting each cycle.
Primary reference: National Tax Service
Health-insurance and exit records need employee-specific review
Maintain eligibility, dependent and remuneration data used by the relevant agencies. International workers can have treaty or exemption questions.
Before exit, check grounds, notice, service, unused leave, retirement-benefit treatment and final reporting.
Primary reference: National Health Insurance Service
Control points
What to catch before onboarding
Each item can change the budget, start date or employing route.
Using a global contract without written wage details
Treating every executive as outside employee protections
Applying the same insurance treatment to all foreign nationals
Calculating severance without verified service and wage records
Primary sources
Official references for South Korea
Open the current authority guidance before making a final employment, payroll, tax or immigration decision.
Reference links checked: 15 September 2026. General operational information; confirm the current requirements for the worker and engagement.
Plan the hire
Review the South Korea case before the offer goes out.
Share the work location, role, compensation, worker status, target date and any immigration dependency. We will identify the employing path and open verification items.