Korea severance pay calculator
Severance pay under Korean law, from your dates and the last three months' wages.
Result
- Severance pay
- ₩14,681,954
- Days employed
- 1,826 days (5 years)
- Average daily wage
- ₩97,826
- Wages for the 3 months
- ₩9,000,000
- Those 3 months
- Wednesday, October 1, 2025 – Wednesday, December 31, 2025 (92 days)
How this was calculated
Wages for the 3 months
3 months' wages + bonuses × 3/12 + leave pay × 3/12
₩9,000,000 + ₩0 × 3/12 + ₩0 × 3/12 = ₩9,000,000
Average daily wage
Wages for the 3 months ÷ calendar days in them
₩9,000,000 ÷ 92 = ₩97,826
Severance pay
Average daily wage × 30 × days employed ÷ 365
₩97,826 × 30 × 1826 ÷ 365 = ₩14,681,954
What this calculation assumes
- Korean Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act: owed to employees who worked at least one year, on average 15 hours a week or more.
- If the average daily wage is lower than the ordinary daily wage, the law uses the ordinary wage instead; this calculator does not check that.
- Retirement income tax is not deducted. A company pension plan (DB or DC) pays out under its own rules.
In short
Korean severance pay is the average daily wage × 30 × days employed ÷ 365, owed after one year of work. Five years (1,826 days) with ₩9,000,000 earned in the last three months (92 days) gives ₩97,826.09 a day and ₩14,681,954 of severance pay.
How Korean severance pay is worked out
Severance = average daily wage × 30 × days employed ÷ 365
Under the Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act, anyone who has worked at least one year for an employer, on average 15 hours a week or more, is owed at least 30 days of average wages for each year worked. The average daily wage is the wages for the three calendar months before the leaving date divided by the number of days in those months, plus 3/12 of the bonuses and unused-leave pay of the previous year.
Example: five years from January 1, 2021 to a leaving date of January 1, 2026 is 1,826 days. ₩9,000,000 of wages in October, November and December (92 days) gives an average daily wage of ₩97,826.09, and severance pay of ₩97,826.09 × 30 × 1,826 ÷ 365 = ₩14,681,954.
Dates and what counts as wages
The leaving date is the day after the last day of work, which is how Korean payroll counts it; enter that date. Wages include basic pay and regular allowances before tax. If the average daily wage comes out lower than the ordinary daily wage, the law uses the ordinary wage instead.
Questions people ask
Is severance owed after less than a year?
No. The legal minimum applies from one full year of employment (365 days). Some employment contracts pay more, or pay from an earlier point.
Is severance pay taxed?
Yes, as retirement income, at a lower effective rate than salary. This calculator shows the amount before that tax.