Unemployment benefit is not set by salary — cap, floor and benefit days
Someone who earned ₩1.5M a month and someone who earned ₩3M receive the same unemployment benefit, ₩66,048 a day. Yet two people who both earned ₩3M receive different totals: ₩9,907,200 and ₩15,851,520. The difference was their insured period. Unemployment benefit is not set by salary. The daily amount is set by the ₩68,100 cap and the ₩66,048 floor, and the number of days by insured period and age. The 60% formula lives only between ₩3.37M and ₩3.48M of monthly pay.
Conditions used in the calculation
- Case
- monthly pay ₩1.5M · ₩2M · ₩3M · ₩4M · ₩8M · 8 hours a day · 1 year vs 10 years insured · under 50 vs 50 or over
- Step ①
- floor: daily hours × minimum wage × 80% = 8 hours · ₩10,320 → ₩66,048
- Step ②
- cap: base daily amount cap ₩113,500 (2026 notice) × 60% = ₩68,100
- Step ③
- benefit days, under 50: under 1 year 120 · under 3 years 150 · under 5 years 180 · under 10 years 210 · 10 years or more 240 · 50 or over and disabled one step up · maximum 270
- Requirements
- 180 days insured within the 18 months before leaving · voluntary resignation excluded in principle · within 12 months after leaving
- 2028-01-01
- the base changes from three months' average wages to a year's remuneration (a promulgated amendment)
Results
- ₩1.5M · ₩2M · ₩3M
- all ₩66,048 a day (floor)
- Same ₩3M · 1 year vs 10 years
- 150 days ₩9,907,200 vs 240 days ₩15,851,520
- 60% of ₩3M
- ₩58,696 → floor ₩66,048 · ₩1,981,440 a month
- Cap
- ₩68,100 · ₩4M and ₩8M alike · ₩2,043,000 a month · ₩2,052 above the floor
- Band where the 60% formula lives
- ₩3.37M to ₩3.48M
- 50 or over · 10 years
- 270 days · ₩17,832,960, nearly ₩8M more than one year at 150 days
- Day table (under 50)
- 120 · 150 · 180 · 210 · 240 days
- 4 hours a day
- the floor halves too
At a glance
The daily amount is the same ₩66,048; the days differ at 150, 240 and 270.
- 1 year · 150 days₩9,907,200
- 10 years · 240 days₩15,851,520
- 50 or over · 10 years · 270 days₩17,832,960
Why it works this way
Someone who earned ₩1.5M a month and someone who earned ₩3M receive the same unemployment benefit: ₩66,048 a day. Yet two people who both earned ₩3M receive different totals, ₩9,907,200 and ₩15,851,520. Same pay, different insured periods. Unemployment benefit is not set by salary. The daily amount is set by the cap and the floor, and the number of days by insured period and age. Most people know only '60% of pay' and compute without knowing that 60% applies to almost no one. More pay is commonly assumed to mean more benefit, but above the cap it is the same.
Employment Insurance Act Article 46.
- Ruledaily amount = average wages of the last three months × 60%
- Floordaily hours × minimum wage × 80% · 8 hours: 10,320 × 8 × 0.8 = ₩66,048 · a smaller 60% figure is lifted here
- ₩3M₩3M × 60% = ₩58,696 a day → floor ₩66,048 · ₩1.5M and ₩2M the same · ₩1,981,440 a month
The 60% does not operate below ₩3.37M. Not knowing, people give up assuming it is small. Shorter daily hours lower the floor, half at 4 hours, so the contract's scheduled hours set the first number.
Step ② The cap is the ceiling by notice. The base daily amount cap is ₩113,500 by notice, × 60% = ₩68,100 a day. Sixty percent of ₩4M hits the cap, and ₩8M is also ₩68,100. The gap between the ₩66,048 floor and ₩68,100 cap is ₩2,052, so the 60% formula lives only between ₩3.37M and ₩3.48M. Most people stumble here: however much you earned, the difference is ₩2,052 a day. Not knowing, high earners plan wrongly; ₩2,043,000 a month is the cap. The cap is set yearly by notice, and ₩113,500 is the 2026 figure.
Employment Insurance Act Article 50 · Table 1. This is where the two people in the opening parted.
- Under 50under 1 year 120 · under 3 years 150 · under 5 years 180 · under 10 years 210 · 10 years or more 240
- 50 or over · disabledone step up · maximum 270
- ₩3M1 year → 150 days ₩9,907,200 · 10 years → 240 days ₩15,851,520 · 50 or over, 10 years → 270 days ₩17,832,960
One year and ten years at 50 or over split by nearly ₩8M on the same pay. Periods at earlier employers count if no benefit was claimed in between. Not knowing, people underestimate the days or do not know the count restarts after a claim.
Requirements and timing. You need 180 insured days within the 18 months before leaving; voluntary resignation is excluded in principle, with exceptions in the table and an earlier lecture. Apply at the employment center and keep looking for work while receiving it. From 1 January 2028 a promulgated amendment changes the base from three months' average wages to a year's remuneration, so the first step's arithmetic changes then. The worksheet is three lines: ① 180 days within 18 months, ② floor or cap, ③ days from the combined period and age. With those three, preparation is done. Re-employment pays part of the remaining days as an early re-employment allowance, so delaying to collect everything is not always a gain, and benefit is available only within 12 months after leaving, so delay cuts it off.
All three steps are passed: the ₩66,048 floor, the ₩68,100 cap, 120 to 270 days. ₩1.5M and ₩3M were the same, and the same ₩3M split into ₩9,907,200 and ₩15,851,520 on the floor and the period. Trusting the 60% alone leads to giving up or planning wrongly, and not knowing the 180 days blocks the application. Two things to do now: check the combined insured period, including earlier employers, on the employment insurance site, and count the 180 days within 18 months and the age band to set the timing. The cap changes yearly and resignation exceptions depend on circumstances, so check with the employment center.
The legal basis
Drawn from government announcements and the statutes themselves as primary sources, covering only the relevant part.
Employment Insurance Act Articles 45 and 46 (Base daily amount · Daily benefit)
In force 2026 notice (checked 2026-09-05)
The base daily amount is the average wages of the three months before leaving (cap ₩113,500). The daily benefit is 60% of it, lifted to the minimum wage × contractual daily hours × 80% where lower (floor).
What this means
With ₩2,052 between the ₩66,048 floor and ₩68,100 cap, pay barely sets the daily amount.
Employment Insurance Act Article 50 · Table 1 (Benefit days)
In force Current (checked 2026-09-05)
From 120 to 270 days by age at separation (under 50 · 50 or over) and insured period (under 1 year to 10 years or more).
What this means
Days set the total. One year and ten years at 50 or over split by nearly ₩8M.
Employment Insurance Act Articles 40, 48 and 64 (Eligibility · Benefit period · Early re-employment allowance)
In force Current (checked 2026-09-05)
180 insured days within the 18 months before leaving. The benefit period runs 12 months from the day after leaving. Re-employment with at least half the days remaining earns an early re-employment allowance.
What this means
180 days is the door and 12 months the limit. Delaying to collect everything is not always a gain.
Employment Insurance Act Article 45 as amended (effective 2028-01-01)
In force Effective 2028-01-01 (promulgated)
The base daily amount becomes the remuneration reported for the year before leaving divided by the days in the calculation period.
What this means
The starting point of the first step changes. The same provision as the upcoming-law page news-unemployment-base-wage.
Run it on your own numbers
The calculator opens with these conditions already filled in. Change the figures and your own case comes straight out.
Frequently asked
It is 60% of pay, so why are ₩1.5M and ₩3M the same?
The floor is the minimum wage × 8 hours × 80% = ₩66,048, so 60% of ₩3M, ₩58,696, is lifted to the floor. The 60% formula operates only between ₩3.37M and ₩3.48M.
How much on ₩8M a month?
The cap, ₩68,100. It is 60% of the ₩113,500 base daily cap, and everything from ₩4M to ₩8M is the same. ₩2,052 above the floor.
How many days?
Set by insured period and age. Under 50, from 120 days for under a year to 240 for ten years or more; 50 or over and the disabled move up one step to a maximum of 270.
Do periods at a previous employer count?
Yes, if no benefit was claimed in between. After a claim the count restarts. Check the combined period on the employment insurance site.
Is it better to collect everything before taking a job?
Not always. Part of the remaining days can be paid as an early re-employment allowance, and benefit is available only within 12 months after leaving, so delay cuts it off.
Does anything change in 2028?
Yes. From 1 January 2028 a promulgated amendment changes the base daily amount from three months' average wages to a year's remuneration. The starting point for the floor and cap changes.
Results are estimates based on the inputs and on the rules as at the stated date. They may differ from a lender's actual assessment, and the rules change often. Take professional advice before any decision that matters.