Employer of Record (EOR) in South Korea

Hire in South Korea in days, with no entity and no exposure to getting Labor Standards Act compliance wrong. We place you with the right vetted EOR partner, at pricing you will not get going direct, and stay on your side for the life of the relationship.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners
  • Operational in days

What an Employer of Record does for you in South Korea

An Employer of Record is a company that legally employs your Korean staff on your behalf. You choose the person and direct their work day to day. The EOR is the legal employer on paper, which is what lets you build a team in South Korea without forming your own company.

In practice the EOR partner takes on everything that needs a Korean legal entity and local expertise: a compliant employment contract under the Labor Standards Act, monthly payroll withholding across all four social insurance schemes (National Pension, National Health Insurance, Employment Insurance, and industry-rated Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance) plus income tax, employer contributions and statutory filings to the National Pension Service, National Health Insurance Service, the Korea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service, and the National Tax Service, statutory benefits and leave, and compliant onboarding and lawful exits with the correct statutory notice, since South Korea is not at-will. You get a working team in days. The EOR carries the legal and compliance weight; you carry the commercial relationship. The only question worth spending time on is which partner is genuinely strong in South Korea, and that is the question we answer for you.

01

Legal employer, on paper

A compliant Korean employment contract under the Labor Standards Act, with all statutory terms correct from day one.

02

Compliant from day one

Monthly payroll, income tax withholding, and contributions across all four social insurance schemes, with statutory filings made to the National Pension Service, National Health Insurance Service, and the Korea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service.

03

No entity required

Statutory benefits, annual leave, notice and severance under the Labor Standards Act, and lawful onboarding and exits. You get a working team in days; the EOR carries the legal weight.

How it works: four steps to a compliant hire

From first call to a compliant Korean hire at work, usually in days.

01 — Scope & quote

We map the role, salary, and start date, and come back with a clear all-in monthly cost. No guesswork, no hidden extras.

02 — Compliant contract

Your employment contract is drafted to Korean standards by the partner, and we sanity-check the terms and pricing before you sign. Compliant from day one.

03 — Onboard in days

A correct Korean contract is issued under the Labor Standards Act, with all statutory terms from day one. Your hire can start in days.

04 — Payroll & compliance run

Income tax and all four social insurance contributions calculated and withheld, payslips issued, statutory filings made to the National Pension Service, National Health Insurance Service, and the Korea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service. You direct the work; the compliance just runs.

What EOR in South Korea costs

Two parts: the statutory cost of employing someone, and the EOR partner fee. In South Korea the statutory employer cost runs through four separate insurance schemes, not one combined tax, and one of those schemes is priced by industry. We make both transparent before you commit, so there are no surprises.

Employer social insurance

Roughly 10.6% to 11.4% of gross salary across National Pension (4.75%, capped at a monthly income ceiling reset every July), National Health Insurance (3.595% plus a long-term care add-on), and Employment Insurance (from 1.15%), plus Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance on top: 100% employer-funded, industry-rated, averaging around 1.47% but running far higher in high-risk sectors. Predictable and fully costed before you commit.

Minimum wage (2026)

KRW 10,320 per hour (about KRW 2,156,880 per month) for 2026, one national rate with no regional variation.

Income tax (employee)

Eight-band progressive rate from 6% up to 45%, plus a mandatory 10% local surtax on the national liability (effective top rate about 49.5%). Withheld monthly at source from the employee’s pay, reconciled every February at year-end tax settlement. Borne by the employee, not added to your cost.

EOR partner fee

A transparent per-employee monthly fee. We benchmark across our vetted network, typically 15 to 25% below going direct, and renegotiate for you at renewal.

Why run it through Bradford Jacobs

We know which EOR partners are genuinely strong in South Korea, by sector and by complexity. We place you with the right one, at pricing you will not get going direct, and stay on your side for the life of the relationship.

Independent, not a single provider

We are independent: we assess what you actually need, place you with the right vetted partner, secure pricing you will not get going direct, and stay on your side to escalate or renegotiate. You get advice, not a product pitch.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners only
  • On your side at renewal

Pricing you can’t get direct

South Korea’s employer cost splits across four separate statutory schemes, one of them priced by industry rather than a flat rate, which makes it easy to under- or over-quote a monthly fee up front. We benchmark across our partner network for rates typically 15 to 25% below going direct, and renegotiate on your behalf at renewal. Most companies do not know how much room there is to negotiate. We do.

  • 15-25% below direct
  • Network benchmarking
  • Renegotiated for you

Straight to the top when it matters

When something needs resolving, and in global employment it sometimes does, you come to us. We escalate directly, past the helpdesk, to people who can actually move it.

  • Direct escalation
  • No support queues
  • Named account contact

Two decades across markets

Two decades placing and managing EOR arrangements across global markets, with the local knowledge of the Labor Standards Act, the four-scheme social insurance structure, and Korean termination rules that keeps you compliant.

  • EOR specialists
  • Labor Standards Act
  • Risk removed

Built for conversion to your own entity

Most companies use EOR for 12 to 24 months, then move to their own Korean JSC. We plan that crossover and manage the transition when the economics justify it.

  • EOR to entity path
  • Transition managed
  • Crossover planning

Why an EOR is the fastest compliant way into South Korea

Two things slow foreign employers down in South Korea: the time to incorporate, and the risk of getting the Labor Standards Act’s notice, severance, and dismissal rules wrong. An EOR removes both.

Working time, leave & contracts

Compliance handled under one national Labor Standards Act. Korean employment law requires mandatory contributions across all four social insurance schemes, a hard 52-hour weekly cap on working time, and dismissal that is only lawful for a justifiable cause, with statutory notice, rather than at-will termination. An EOR carries all of it correctly from day one, so a wrong assumption never becomes a liability.

Operational in days, not weeks

Incorporating in South Korea typically takes two to four weeks, and you cannot legally employ anyone until the Commercial Registry entry completes. An EOR removes that wait entirely: a compliant Korean contract is issued and your hire starts in days. You prove the market first, then incorporate later only if the headcount justifies it. This is the real value of EOR in South Korea: speed into a four-scheme market, with the compliance carried by an expert.

Everything your Korean EOR covers

One transparent monthly fee per employee covers all of this. No hidden extras.

Compliant Korean contract

A compliant Korean employment contract under the Labor Standards Act, issued and maintained for you.

Payroll & four-scheme social insurance

Monthly payroll run, with income tax and all four social insurance contributions calculated, withheld, and filed correctly each month.

Statutory benefits

All statutory benefits administered: paid annual leave, public holidays, maternity leave (90 days) and paternity leave (20 days, both Employment-Insurance funded in part), and statutory notice on exit, which South Korea requires since it is not at-will. Employee social insurance deductions run about 9.72% combined (National Pension 4.75%, National Health Insurance 3.595% plus its long-term care add-on, Employment Insurance 0.9%), deducted from salary, not billed to you. Employees pay nothing toward accident insurance; that scheme is funded by the employer alone.

Compliance & support

Ongoing HR compliance and a single point of contact, for the life of the engagement.

Your questions answered

Straight answers on how Employer of Record works in South Korea.

Is my hire employed by Bradford Jacobs or by me?

Legally, your hire is employed by the Korean EOR partner we place you with, which is what keeps you compliant without an entity. Day to day they work for you: you set the work, the goals, the relationship. You get the team; the partner carries the legal weight.

Usually within days once the role and salary are agreed, with a compliant Korean contract from day one. Compare that to the two to four weeks an incorporation can take, during which you cannot legally employ anyone.

Roughly 10.6% to 11.4% of gross salary across National Pension, National Health Insurance, and Employment Insurance, plus Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance on top at an industry-rated rate (averaging around 1.47%, employer-funded only). Add the transparent EOR partner fee and you have your all-in cost.

Yes, when done properly. The EOR is a real Korean legal employer meeting all Labor Standards Act, social insurance, and tax obligations. The risk is using an under-resourced partner, which is exactly why we place you with vetted partners and stay on your side for the life of the relationship.

The compliant contract, monthly payroll (income tax and all four social insurance withholdings), employer contributions, statutory benefits and leave administration, and ongoing HR compliance. We give you one all-in monthly figure up front, with nothing added later.

Yes, and most companies do once the headcount and permanence justify it. We manage the transition from EOR to your own Korean JSC, and can support the incorporation itself. Most use EOR for 12 to 24 months first.

Ready to hire in South Korea?

Tell us the role and we will come back with a compliant, all-in monthly cost and the right partner, usually within a day. No entity, no lock-in, no pitch, just the fastest compliant way to get your person working in South Korea.

Tax and labour data verified July 2026 (National Pension Service, National Health Insurance Service, National Tax Service, PwC). Figures change; we confirm the current position when we scope your hire.