Country fileKRKRWVerified 2026-09-20
KR
Employer of Record in South Korea: what one employee really costs
South Korea, Asia. One software engineer at $60,000 gross per year, priced through 12 providers with a published fee, on the ECB reference rates of 18 Sept 2026. Change the salary and headcount below.
- Employer on-cost
- +19.3%
- statutory charges on top of gross
- All-in per month
- $6,165 – $6,665
- salary + charges + published fee, cheapest to dearest listed provider
Hiring one software engineer in South Korea at $60,000 gross a year costs about $966 a month in statutory employer charges (+19.3%), plus an EOR fee of $199 to $699 per month depending on the provider: $6,165 to $6,665 all-in, before deposits, FX margins and add-ons. Prices checked 2–24 Sept 2026.
Disclosure Some provider links on this page are affiliate links: if you become a customer after clicking, the provider may pay us a referral fee. It never changes the price you pay, and it never changes the numbers on this page, which come from official sources and are dated. How we are paid
Cost engine · preset to South Korea
Price your own hire, line by line.
employee inatgross / year
≈ KRW 83,285,864 gross / year · KRW at ECB reference rate, 18 Sept 2026
| Per employee | Rate | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | $5,000 | |
| National Pension (국민연금), employer half capped | 4.75% | $226 |
| National Health Insurance (국민건강보험), employer half | 3.60% | $180 |
| Long-term care insurance (노인장기요양보험), employer half | 0.47% | $24 |
| Employment insurance (고용보험) — unemployment benefit, employer half | 0.90% | $45 |
| Employment insurance — employment security and vocational training, employer only | 0.65% | $32 |
| Industrial accident compensation insurance (산재보험), employer only | 0.86% | $43 |
| Statutory severance / retirement benefit (퇴직금) | 8.33% | $417 |
| Employer on-cost | +19.3% | $966 |
| Cost of employment, before EOR fee | $5,966 |
RemoFirstLowest total
$6,165/ month · 1 employee
- Fee / mo
- from $199
- Per year
- $73,979
- Fee share
- 3.2%
Checked 2 Sept 2026
Get a RemoFirst quotePapaya Global
$6,465/ month · 1 employee
- Fee / mo
- from $499
- Per year
- $77,579
- Fee share
- 7.7%
Checked 2 Sept 2026
Get a Papaya quoteDeel
$6,565/ month · 1 employee
- Fee / mo
- from $599
- Per year
- $78,779
- Fee share
- 9.1%
Checked 2 Sept 2026
Get a Deel quoteEmployer charges from official sources; provider fees are list prices on the dates shown; deposits, FX margins and add-ons are not included. Not legal or tax advice. Methodology
14 providers, one scenario, all-in totals.
| Provider | EOR fee / employee / mo | All-in / mo, 1 hire | Deposit | Countries | Checked | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RemoFirst EOR in 185+ countries from $199 per employee per month, no annual contract. | from $199 | $6,165 | Not stated on the pricing page | 185+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from RemoFirst· $6,165/mo |
| Rivermate EOR in 180+ countries from $319 to $639 per employee per month. | from $319 | $6,285 | Not stated on the pricing page | 180+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Rivermate· $6,285/mo |
| Pebl Velocity Global, renamed Pebl in 2026. Prints $399 per employee per month. | from $399 | $6,365 | Not stated on the pricing page | 185+ | 22 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Pebl· $6,365/mo |
| Playroll EOR in 180+ countries from $399 per employee per month; deposit of one month's salary. | from $399 | $6,365 | Fully refundable security deposit equivalent to one month's salary when onboarding an employee (pricing page). | 180+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Playroll· $6,365/mo |
| Multiplier EOR from $459 (annual) or $499 (monthly) per employee, plus mandated add-ons. | from $499 $459 billed annually | $6,465 | Refundable security deposit required per employee by the EOR terms (effective 1 June 2026), sized by Multiplier; not on the pricing page. | 150+ | 24 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Multiplier· $6,465/mo |
| Papaya Global EOR starting from $499 per employee per month, quote-based, 160+ countries. | from $499 | $6,465 | Not stated for EOR on the pricing page (the contractor block states 'No deposit required'). | 160+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Papaya Global· $6,465/mo |
| Borderless AI EOR at $579 per employee per month, no deposit or pre-funding, 170+ countries. | $579 | $6,545 | No deposit: 'No upfront deposits or pre-funding required' (pricing page). | 170+ | 24 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Borderless AI· $6,545/mo |
| Atlas HXM EOR from $599 through its own entities, plus an Agent of Record at $199. | from $599 | $6,565 | Not stated on the pricing page | 160+ | 21 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Atlas HXM· $6,565/mo |
| Deel EOR in 130+ countries, starting at $599 per employee per month. | from $599 | $6,565 | Not stated on the pricing page | 130+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Deel· $6,565/mo |
| G-P EOR in 180+ countries from $599, with no minimum contract length. | from $599 | $6,565 | Not stated on the pricing page | 180+ | 24 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from G-P· $6,565/mo |
| Oyster EOR in 120+ countries at USD 699 per employee per month; refundable deposit. | $699 | $6,665 | Refundable deposit required for EOR team members 'to initiate the engagement and to ensure on-time payments' (pricing FAQ). | 120+ | 24 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Oyster· $6,665/mo |
| Remote EOR in 90+ countries at $699 per employee per month, no deposit. | $699 | $6,665 | No deposit: 'We collect reserve payments in rare, high risk circumstances' (pricing FAQ). | 90+ | 2 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Remote· $6,665/mo |
| Rippling EOR bundled with the Rippling platform; custom quote only. | Quote only | — | Not stated on the pricing page | — | 24 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Rippling |
| Safeguard Global EOR sold alongside entity setup and payroll; no price published. | Quote only | — | Not stated | 187+ | 21 Sept 2026 | Get a quote from Safeguard Global |
Same salary and statutory charges in every row; only the fee segment changes.
What South Korea adds on top of the salary, and where each rate comes from.
Rates apply to the base named in each line; capped lines stop growing above the ceiling. Engine assumptions: Provider's Korean entity has 150 to 999 employees (employment-security rate 0.65%) = 0.65.
| Line | Employer rate | Base & ceiling | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Pension (국민연금), employer halfAll workplace subscribers; charged on the standard monthly income between KRW 410,000 and KRW 6,590,000 | 4.75% | Gross salary , capped at KRW 79,080,000 / yr, floor KRW 4,920,000 / yr The headline rate rose on 1 January 2026. The National Pension Service states that a 9% rate applied from 1998 to 2025 and that from 2026 the rate rises by 0.5 point a year for eight years to reach 13% in 2033, and its own worked example is charged at 9.5%. Employer and employee each pay half, so the employer side is 4.75% in 2026 and will be 4.875% in 2027. The standard monthly income is capped at KRW 6,590,000 from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 (KRW 6,370,000 in the year before), which is why the employer share stops at KRW 313,025 a month however high the salary goes. | National Pension Service2026-09-20 |
| National Health Insurance (국민건강보험), employer halfAll employees; 7.19% of monthly remuneration, shared equally between employer and employee | 3.60% | Gross salary The Health Insurance Policy Deliberation Committee set the 2026 rate at 7.19% on 28 August 2025, up 0.1 point from 7.09%, and the enforcement decree states the rate as 719 ten-thousandths. Half falls on the employer. A ceiling exists but is far above an engineer's pay: the monthly remuneration premium is capped at KRW 9,183,480 a month for employer and employee together, which is reached only above roughly KRW 128 million of monthly pay, so it is not modelled here. | Ministry of Health and Welfare2026-09-20 |
| Long-term care insurance (노인장기요양보험), employer halfAll health insurance subscribers; a surcharge collected with the health premium and shared equally | 0.47% | Gross salary This line is not a percentage of pay in the statute: it is charged as a percentage of the health insurance premium. The Long-Term Care Committee decided on 4 November 2025 that the 2026 rate is 13.14% of the health premium, which the ministry itself restates as 0.9448% of income (0.9182% in 2025). Half of that 0.9448% is the employer's, which is the 0.4724% modelled here. Because it rides on the health premium, it follows the same base and the same ceiling. | Ministry of Health and Welfare2026-09-20 |
| Employment insurance (고용보험) — unemployment benefit, employer halfAll insured employees; 1.8% of pay, split equally between employer and employee | 0.90% | Gross salary Article 12 of the enforcement decree of the Act on the Collection of Insurance Premiums sets the unemployment-benefit rate at 18 thousandths of pay. Employer and employee each carry 0.9%. Uncapped: unlike pension and health, there is no ceiling on the base, so this line keeps growing with the salary. | Act on the Collection of Insurance Premiums for Employment Insurance and Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance, Enforcement Decree art. 12 (Presidential Decree 35935, in force 23 December 2025)2026-09-20 |
| Employment insurance — employment security and vocational training, employer onlyEmployer-only branch; rate set by the legal employer's headcount | 0.65% | Gross salary The same decree article sets four rates by the employer's number of regular employees: 25 ten-thousandths under 150 staff, 45 at 150 or more for a priority-support company, 65 from 150 to 999 otherwise, 85 at 1,000 or more and for the State. Modelled at 0.65% on the declared assumption that the provider's Korean entity employs 150 to 999 people including the workers it hosts; the ministry's own 2026 employment insurance booklet prints the same four brackets. No employee share and no ceiling. | Act on the Collection of Insurance Premiums, Enforcement Decree art. 12 (Presidential Decree 35935, in force 23 December 2025)2026-09-20 |
| Industrial accident compensation insurance (산재보험), employer onlyEmployer-only cover; rate set by the employer's registered business type, plus a flat commuting-accident rate | 0.86% | Gross salary Two components of the ministry's 2026 notice: 8 per thousand for facility management and business support services, the class a staffing and payroll provider registers under, plus the commuting-accident rate of 0.6 per thousand which is the same for every business type. Neighbouring classes in the same notice show what the choice is worth: professional, health, education and leisure services pay 6 per thousand, finance and insurance 5, construction 35. The 2026 average across all 28 classes is 1.47% including the commuting rate. | Ministry of Employment and Labour Notice 2025-91 of 31 December 20252026-09-20 |
| Statutory severance / retirement benefit (퇴직금) | 8.33% | Added to the annual costThe largest employer line in this ledger, ahead of the pension. The Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act requires the employer to run a scheme paying at least 30 days of average wages for each year of continuous service, so one month of pay accrues every year, which is 8.33% of annual salary. It is included in the total because it accrues from the first year and providers fund it monthly, unlike a redundancy payment that only falls due on dismissal. Two things push the real figure slightly higher: average wages are the last three months' total pay divided by the days in that period, so bonuses and unused-leave pay enter the base, and a defined-contribution plan obliges the employer to pay in at least one twelfth of total annual remuneration. | Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act art. 8(1) (Act 21475, in force 18 September 2026)2026-09-20 |
| Statutory annual leave (15 days from the second year) not in total | — | Paid time inside the salary rather than an extra contribution, so it is listed here and left out of the total. Fifteen days a year once one year of service is complete, accruing at one day a month during the first year, with an extra day for every two further years of service. Unused days are paid out, and that payment enters the average wage used for severance. | Deel2026-09-20 |
| Employer on-cost at $60,000 | +19.3% | $11,591 a year, $966 a month |
EOR or your own entity
Fees scale with headcount. An entity does not.
A Korean subsidiary means incorporation and a foreign-investment filing, then registration with four separate insurers — the National Pension Service, the National Health Insurance Service, the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service and the employment insurance office — although the health service collects all four premiums on one bill. The employer side is not where Korea is expensive: statutory charges before severance come to roughly a tenth of pay, and the retirement benefit is the rest. What an entity really buys you is control over the severance scheme and the 52-hour week rules; below ten hires the compliance load usually favours a provider.
Fees grow with every hire; the charges line is owed under an entity too.
| Headcount | RemoFirst fees / yr | Borderless AI fees / yr | Statutory charges / yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,388 | $6,948 | $11,591 |
| 3 | $7,164 | $20,844 | $34,772 |
| 5 | $11,940 | $34,740 | $57,953 |
| 10 | $23,880 | $69,480 | $115,905 |
| 20 | $47,760 | $138,960 | $231,810 |
Statutory charges are owed either way; the provider fee is the only line an entity removes, against the cost of incorporating and running local payroll.
Employment terms that move the cost
- Paid leave
- 15 days
- Public holidays
- 15
- 13th month
- Not mandatory
- Probation
- no statutory maximum
- Notice
- Dismissal needs 30 days' written notice or 30 days of ordinary wages in lieu, and no notice is owed in the first three months of employment; dismissal itself must have just cause, which is the harder constraint. Severance is not a dismissal cost in Korea: the statutory retirement benefit of one month per year of service is owed however the contract ends, including resignation, and is payable within 14 days of leaving.
- Reviewed
- 2026-09-20
Get a quote for South Korea.
The lowest published total here, next to the two providers searched for most often (the rule). Totals for 1 hire at $60,000. Ask each provider about deposits, FX margins and mandatory add-ons for South Korea: those are the lines that move.
Get a RemoFirst quote· $6,165/mo Get a Papaya quote· $6,465/mo Get a Deel quote· $6,565/mo
Disclosure Some provider links are affiliate links; they never change the numbers on this page. Details
Questions people ask before booking a demo
- How much do statutory employer contributions add to a salary in South Korea?
- About 19% at this page's example of US$60,000, and the severance accrual is nearly half of it. On a monthly salary of US$5,000 the employer pays roughly US$226 of national pension, US$180 of health insurance, US$24 of long-term care, US$78 of employment insurance and US$43 of accident cover — about US$550, or 11% of pay — plus US$417 a month of statutory severance accrual. Total employer on-cost is about US$966 a month on top of the salary.
- Is Korean severance pay a real monthly cost or only a termination cost?
- A real monthly cost. The Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act obliges every employer to run a scheme paying at least 30 days of average wages for each year of continuous service, and it is owed whether the employee resigns or is dismissed. Providers therefore accrue it every month, which is why it shows here as 8.33% of pay rather than as a one-off. A defined-contribution plan makes the funding explicit: the employer must pay in at least one twelfth of annual remuneration.
- Did Korean employer costs change in 2026?
- Yes, on two lines. The national pension rate rose from 9% to 9.5% on 1 January 2026, the first step of an eight-year climb to 13% by 2033, so the employer half went from 4.5% to 4.75% and will be 4.875% in 2027. Health insurance rose from 7.09% to 7.19%, and the long-term care surcharge from 0.9182% to 0.9448% of income. Cost pages still quoting a 4.5% pension share are working from 2025 rates.
- Why does the pension line stop growing on higher salaries?
- Because the pension base is capped. Contributions are charged on standard monthly income between KRW 410,000 and KRW 6,590,000 for the year running from 1 July 2026, so the employer's pension share stops at KRW 313,025 a month — about US$225 — however high the salary goes. Health insurance, long-term care, employment insurance and accident cover carry no practical ceiling, and neither does the severance accrual, so the effective rate falls only slowly as pay rises.
- Which employer charges depend on the provider rather than on the employee?
- Two. The employment-security half of employment insurance is set by the legal employer's headcount — 0.25% under 150 staff up to 0.85% at 1,000 or more — and under an EOR that headcount is the provider's Korean payroll, including the workers it hosts. The accident insurance rate is set by the provider's registered business type: 8 per thousand for business support services against 6 for professional services. Together they are worth about 0.6 points of pay, so ask which brackets the quote assumes.