2027 minimum wage ₩10,700 an hour — ₩2,236,300 a month
The minimum wage for 2027 is ₩10,700 an hour. The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced it on 5 August 2026 and it takes effect on 1 January 2027. Up ₩380 (3.68%), the monthly figure for a 40-hour week is ₩2,236,300, which is ₩79,420 more than now. For the rest of this year ₩10,320 still applies.
Conditions used in the video
- Announced
- 2026-08-05
- Takes effect
- 2027-01-01
- Contracted weekly hours
- 40
- Monthly hours
- 209 (incl. paid holiday)
- Probation cut
- 3 months · 10% · contract of 1 year or more
Results
- 2027 hourly
- ₩10,700
- 2027 monthly (40-hour week)
- ₩2,236,300
- 2026 hourly
- ₩10,320
- 2026 monthly (40-hour week)
- ₩2,156,880
- Monthly increase
- ₩79,420
- Probation, first 3 months (90%)
- ₩9,630
At a glance
Hourly rate × 209 hours, which includes 8 paid holiday hours.
- 2026 · ₩10,320₩2,156,880
until 31 December
- 2027 · ₩10,700₩2,236,300
from 2027-01-01
Why it works this way
The 2027 minimum wage is set: ₩10,700 an hour. The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced it on 5 August 2026.
But an announcement does not mean you are paid that from today.
최저임금법 제10조제2항.
- 2026-08-05ministry notice · ₩10,700
- to 2026-12-31₩10,320 is the minimum
- from 2027-01-01₩10,700 is the minimum
An announced minimum wage takes effect on 1 January of the following year. Through 31 December 2026, ₩10,320 is the right figure.
What is that a month? On a 40-hour week the month counts as 209 hours, including 8 paid holiday hours. ₩10,700 × 209 is ₩2,236,300, ₩79,420 more a month than this year's ₩2,156,880.
최저임금법 시행령 제5조제1항제3호 · 근로기준법 제55조제1항.
- Hourly₩10,320 → ₩10,700 (+₩380, 3.68%)
- Daily (8 hours)₩82,560 → ₩85,600
- Monthly (209 hours)₩2,156,880 → ₩2,236,300
209 is (40 + 8 holiday hours) × 365 ÷ 7 ÷ 12. Under 15 hours a week there is no paid holiday, so only hours worked count.
You may have heard the rate can be cut during probation. True, but three conditions apply: a contract of one year or more, within three months of starting, and not simple manual work. Only when all three hold is it cut by 10%, to ₩9,630.
"Simple manual work" here means the occupations in Major Group 9 (Elementary Workers) of the Korean Standard Classification of Occupations (MOEL Notice 2018-23). Delivery riders, petrol station attendants, kitchen assistants, fast-food preparers and shop-floor stockers fall in it, and those jobs get no cut even on probation, so it is ₩10,700 from day one. So is any contract shorter than a year, or with no fixed term.
One caution on monthly salaries: even above ₩2,236,300, overtime pay or meal allowances mixed into it do not all count toward the minimum. Divide base pay plus fixed monthly allowances by 209 and check that it reaches ₩10,700.
In short: from 1 January 2027 it is ₩10,700 an hour and ₩2,236,300 a month on a 40-hour week, and for the rest of this year ₩10,320 applies.
The legal basis
Drawn from government announcements and the statutes themselves as primary sources, covering only the relevant part.
Minimum wage notice for 2027 (Ministry of Employment and Labor)
In force Announced 2026-08-05 · in force 2027-01-01
Hourly ₩10,700. Monthly equivalent ₩2,236,300 (40 contracted hours a week, 209 hours a month).
What this means
🔴 Announcement and effect are different dates. ₩10,320 applies through 31 December 2026.
최저임금법 제10조제2항 (notice and effect)
In force In force
An announced minimum wage takes effect on 1 January of the following year, unless the Minister sets a different date for particular industries in view of wage bargaining schedules.
What this means
The basis for an August announcement applying from the following January.
최저임금법 시행령 제5조제1항제3호 (converting monthly pay)
In force In force
Pay fixed by the month is converted to an hourly figure by dividing it by the contracted hours for one month.
What this means
Where paid weekly holiday applies those hours are included, so a 40-hour week is 209 hours a month.
최저임금법 제5조제2항 · 시행령 제3조 (probationary workers)
In force In force
For a worker on a contract of one year or more who is within three months of starting probation, the minimum is the hourly minimum less 10/100, except workers in simple manual occupations designated by ministry notice.
What this means
🔴 Contract of a year or more, within three months, and not simple manual work. All three, or it is ₩10,700.
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.
Open the Minimum Wage & Weekly Holiday Pay
Frequently asked
It has been announced. Why has my pay not gone up?
Article 10(2) of the Minimum Wage Act gives an announced minimum wage effect from 1 January of the following year. The ₩10,700 announced on 5 August 2026 applies from 1 January 2027; until then the 2026 figure of ₩10,320 applies.
I work 40 hours and my salary is below ₩2,236,300.
Add base pay and fixed monthly allowances only, and divide by 209. Overtime, night and holiday premiums and some welfare allowances do not fully count. If the result is under ₩10,700 the pay is below the minimum.
What is the monthly figure for 20 hours a week?
At 15 hours or more paid holiday applies: (20 + 4 holiday hours) × 4.345 (the average weeks in a month) ≈ 104 hours × ₩10,700 = ₩1,112,800. The calculator gives the exact figure for any hours.
Is probation always 90%?
No. Only on a contract of one year or more, within three months of starting, and outside simple manual work. Whether a job counts is decided by Major Group 9 of the Korean Standard Classification of Occupations. Delivery riders, petrol station attendants and kitchen assistants are in it, and those get ₩10,700 from day one.
Will it rise again in 2027?
The 2028 minimum wage is decided by the Minimum Wage Commission in summer 2027 and announced by 5 August. This page is updated when it is.
Does it apply to workplaces with fewer than five staff?
Yes. The minimum wage applies to every workplace with at least one worker. The under-five exemption is for certain Labor Standards Act provisions such as overtime premiums, not the minimum wage.
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.