How to Read a Korean Payslip (급여명세서): Every Line Explained in English
A line-by-line English guide to the Korean payslip: base pay, allowances, the four social insurances, income tax, and why your take-home pay is lower than your salary.
Your first Korean payslip (급여명세서, geuyeo myeongseseo) can be a wall of Hangul. The good news: almost every payslip has the same two halves. The top half is what you earned, the bottom half is what was deducted, and the last line is what reaches your bank account.
Since November 2021, employers in Korea must give employees a payslip that shows how the pay was calculated, so you have the right to ask for one if you don't get it.
Part 1: Earnings (지급 항목)
| Korean | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 기본급 | Base pay | Your basic monthly salary. |
| 식대 | Meal allowance | Up to ₩200,000 a month is tax-free. |
| 차량유지비 / 자가운전보조금 | Car allowance | Can be partly tax-free if you use your own car for work. |
| 연장근로수당 | Overtime pay | Work beyond legal hours is paid at least 1.5× in workplaces covered by the rule. |
| 야간근로수당 / 휴일근로수당 | Night / holiday work pay | Extra pay for night (10 pm–6 am) or holiday work. |
| 주휴수당 | Weekly holiday allowance | Paid rest day for people who work 15+ hours a week. Often shown on part-time payslips. |
| 상여금 / 성과급 | Bonus / performance bonus | |
| 지급액 계 | Total gross pay | The sum of everything above. |
Part 2: Deductions (공제 항목)
| Korean | English | 2026 employee share |
|---|---|---|
| 국민연금 | National Pension | 4.75% (capped) |
| 건강보험 | Health insurance | 3.595% |
| 장기요양보험 | Long-term care insurance | About 13.14% of your health insurance premium |
| 고용보험 | Employment insurance | 0.9% |
| 소득세 | Income tax | Withheld using the National Tax Service table |
| 지방소득세 | Local income tax | 10% of income tax |
| 공제액 계 | Total deductions | |
| 실지급액 / 차인지급액 | Net pay (take-home) | What reaches your bank account |
The four insurances (4대보험) are based on your pay minus tax-free allowances. Your employer pays the same amount again for each of them, plus all of the industrial accident insurance, and that is not taken from your salary.
Worked example
Suppose your annual salary is ₩36,000,000 (₩3,000,000 a month) with no tax-free allowance and you support only yourself:
So roughly 12–13% of the gross amount is deducted at this salary. Higher salaries lose a larger share because income tax is progressive. Try your own numbers in the take-home pay calculator.
Why “annual salary” is not 12 × monthly pay
In Korea, salaries are usually quoted per year (연봉, yeonbong). Check your contract for two things:
- Is severance included? By law, employees who work at least one year get severance pay (퇴직금) of about one month's average pay per year worked. Some contracts quote a yearly figure that already includes it, which makes the monthly pay lower than you'd expect.
- Is the bonus included? Some companies pay part of the yearly salary as bonuses in certain months, so ordinary months look smaller.
The minimum wage in 2026
The 2026 minimum wage is ₩10,320 per hour. For a full-time worker (40 hours a week, counted as 209 paid hours a month including the weekly paid rest day) that is ₩2,156,880 a month, before deductions.
Year-end tax settlement (연말정산)
The income tax on each payslip is an estimate. Every January to February, your employer recalculates your tax for the previous year using your actual deductions: card spending, medical bills, rent, insurance and so on. If too much was withheld you get money back with your February or March pay; if too little, extra is deducted. Koreans jokingly call a refund the “13th-month salary” (13월의 월급).
When to ask questions
- A deduction is missing or doubled.
- Overtime you worked is not listed.
- National Pension is deducted although you were told you are exempt (or the other way round).
Ask your HR or payroll team first. For unpaid wages you can contact the Ministry of Employment and Labor, which offers help for foreign workers.
Rates: 2026 figures from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, National Pension Service and 4 Social Insurance Information Center. Minimum wage from the Minimum Wage Commission's decision for 2026.