Country Trading Profiles South Korea

The active population in figures

Source: CIA - The world factbook ; UN - United Nations ; World Bank

Note: (e) Estimated data

Legal weekly duration: 40 (or 44) hours per week.
Retirement age: No obligatory retirement age. In major companies, the retirement ages is 54 or 56,4. But in labor market, the Korean employees are working up to 67~68.
Working contracts: In Korea, the contract determines if the employee is part of the regular or non-regular staff. Permanent employees form the regular staff. Among the non-regular staff, there are different types of contract: part-time workers, temporary workers, dispatched workers, fixed-term contract workers, entrusted employees.

Minimum wage: 3,770 won per hour and 30,160 won per day (8-hour day).
Average wage: Average monthly gross earnings in South Korea is KRW 3,551,046 (2,800 USD).
Social contributions: Social security contributions paid by employers: - National Pension: 50% (of total sum based on 9% of the salary)
- Health Insurance: 50% (of total sum based on 0.58% of the salary)
- Employment Insurance: 50% (of unemployment burden 0.9% of the salary) or 100% of employment security business/ occupational ability development business, which are around 0.25~0.85% of the salary
- Industrial Accident Insurance: 100%
Social security contributions paid by employees: - National Pension: 50% (of total sum based on 9% of the salary)
- Health Insurance: 50% (of total sum based on 0.58% of the salary)
- Employment Insurance: (1) 50% (of unemployment burden 0.9% of the salary). In other word, 0.45% of the salary (2) no other burden.
- Industrial Accident Insurance: 0%

Social dialogue and involvement of social partners: The negociations in Korea are made up on the national level, or the level of industrial sectors or the company level.
Unions: Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), which presents around 3429 unions in 2006
Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) which presents around 1,143 unions 2006
Unionization rate: 10,3% in 2006, 10,3% in 2005, 10,6% in 2004 and 11,0% in 2003.
Labor regulation bodies: Ministry of Labor