When leave days appear, and how many
Korea's Labor Standards Act gives paid annual leave (연차, yeoncha) in three stages, and it applies to foreign employees in exactly the same way:
- In your first year — 1 day for each full month you work without absence, up to 11 days.
- After one year — 15 days, if you attended at least 80% of working days that year.
- From the third year — one more day every two years, up to 25 days.
| Years of service | New leave days that year |
|---|---|
| 1 year | 15 days |
| 2 years | 15 days |
| 3 years | 16 days |
| 4 years | 16 days |
| 5 years | 17 days |
| 7 years | 18 days |
| 9 years | 19 days |
| 11 years | 20 days |
| 13 years | 21 days |
| 15 years | 22 days |
| 17 years | 23 days |
| 19 years | 24 days |
| 21 years | 25 days |
You reach the 25-day maximum after 21 years. The first-year days (up to 11) are separate from the 15 days you get at one year, and must be used within a year of your start date.
Unused leave is paid out
If the period to use your leave ends and days are left, your employer must pay you for them. The rate is your ordinary wage — regular monthly pay without bonuses.
Unused leave pay = unused days × daily ordinary wage
Daily ordinary wage = monthly ordinary wage ÷ 209 hours × 8 hours
On a monthly ordinary wage of ₩3,000,000, the hourly rate is ₩14,354 and a day is worth ₩114,832, so five unused days pay ₩574,160. 209 hours is the monthly paid time of a 40-hour week, including weekly holiday pay. Employers round the hourly rate differently, so the real figure can differ by a few won.
Leaving the company? Any leave you haven't used is paid out with your final pay, and leave you take before leaving still counts toward your years of service.
Exception 1: your employer pushed you to use it
If your employer followed the legal leave-use promotion procedure and you still didn't take the days, they don't have to pay for them. The procedure is strict — written notices of your remaining days starting six months before they expire, and a request that you set dates — so a casual "take your leave" is not enough.
Exception 2: leaving after exactly one year
According to the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the 15 days that come with one year of service only arise if you are still employed the day after completing that year. If a one-year contract ends on the anniversary, you get only the first-year days (up to 11). One more day of employment adds the 15 days.
Start-date basis or calendar-year basis
The law counts leave from your start date, but many companies give everyone leave on 1 January for simplicity. That is allowed, but when you leave, you must not end up with less than the start-date method gives; any shortfall has to be paid. This calculator uses your start date.
What this calculator doesn't include
- Workplaces with fewer than 5 employees — the annual leave rules don't apply at all.
- Years with less than 80% attendance — you only get a day for each full month worked.
- Part-time workers (15+ hours a week) — leave is pro-rated in hours by your working time.
- Company rules that give more leave than the law, and calendar-year pro-rating.