Enter your last three months of pay, your age on the day you left and how long you were insured to estimate Korea's job-seeking (unemployment) benefit under the Employment Insurance Act: the daily amount, the number of days and the total. It applies the 2026 cap of KRW 68,100 and floor of KRW 66,048, shows the last day to apply to receive every day within the 12-month benefit period, and estimates the early reemployment allowance. Everything runs in your browser.
Leaving
Your last working day is treated as the leaving date. The benefit period runs 12 months from the next day. Used for the floor. Anything over 8 hours counts as 8.
Age and insured period
Total time covered by employment insurance. Earlier jobs count, but leave out time before a previous benefit claim.
Pay before leaving
More precise · optional
Used to estimate the 180 insured unit days. Leave blank to estimate from the total insured period.
Shows how many days you can receive if you apply that day. Estimates the early reemployment allowance.
Enter your last working day and pay for the last three months to see the estimate.
The job-seeking benefit, the core of Korea's unemployment benefit, pays 60% of a base daily wage, which is the average wage before leaving (Employment Insurance Act, Arts. 45 and 46). The average wage is total pay over the three months before the last working day divided by the calendar days in that period, the same method used for severance pay. If the ordinary wage is higher, it is used instead.
The base daily wage is capped. For people who left on or after 1 January 2026 the cap is KRW 113,500, so the daily amount never exceeds 113,500 × 60% = KRW 68,100. For people who left in 2025 or earlier the cap was KRW 110,000, or KRW 66,000 a day.
There is also a floor. If the daily amount is below the minimum wage on the leaving date × daily contracted hours × 80%, the floor is paid. With the 2026 minimum wage of KRW 10,320 and an 8-hour day that is KRW 66,048. With a 4-hour day the floor drops to KRW 33,024.
That leaves only KRW 2,052 between the 2026 floor and cap. For an 8-hour worker, an average daily wage under KRW 110,080 (about KRW 3.38 million a month over a 92-day period) gets the floor, and KRW 113,500 or more (about KRW 3.48 million a month) gets the cap. The result shows which band applies.
The number of benefit days depends on your age on the leaving date and your insured period (Art. 50, Annex 1). Under 50: 120 days for under 1 year, 150 for 1-3 years, 180 for 3-5 years, 210 for 5-10 years and 240 for 10 years or more.
People aged 50 or over and people with disabilities get 120, 180, 210, 240 and 270 days for the same periods. Age is taken on the leaving date, so turning 50 just after leaving does not change the row.
The insured period is your total time covered by employment insurance. Earlier jobs can be added, but time before a previous benefit claim is not counted again. Your exact record is on Work24.
You need at least 180 insured unit days in the 18 months before leaving (Art. 40). Unit days count days that were paid, not calendar days. A five-day worker loses the unpaid day off (usually Saturday) but keeps the paid weekly holiday, about 6 days a week, so reaching 180 takes about seven months.
The reason for leaving matters too. Recommended resignation, dismissal for business reasons, the end of a fixed-term contract and closure qualify. If you resigned, you qualify only with a justified reason listed in Annex 2 of the Enforcement Rule, such as unpaid wages, a move that makes commuting impractical or illness.
The job center decides eligibility after checking the reason and your insurance record. The calculator does not decide it; it shows the estimate for the conditions you enter and what to check.
The benefit is paid only within 12 months from the day after you leave (Art. 48). Once that period ends, payment stops even if benefit days remain, so applying late costs you days.
The first 7 days after you apply are a waiting period with no payment (Art. 49). The last day to apply and still receive every day is therefore the end of the benefit period minus your benefit days and the 7-day wait. Someone with 270 days has only about 88 days of slack from the day after leaving.
Payments are made on certification days every one to four weeks, so dates can differ by a day or two. Registering as a job seeker on Work24 and applying soon after leaving is the safe choice.
If you take a new job with at least half of your benefit days left and stay for 12 months or more, you can receive half of the remaining benefit as an early reemployment allowance (Art. 64). Enter a reemployment date to see the remaining days and the estimated allowance.
Detailed conditions apply, such as being rehired by your previous employer or having received the allowance recently. The job center confirms whether it is paid.
In September 2026 a reform plan was reported to Korea's Employment Insurance Committee: pay the benefit on a 6-day week that excludes the unpaid day off, and link the cap to the floor. The total and the number of benefit days stay the same, but each month pays less and the payments stretch over a longer period.
The reform still needs legislation and a start date, so the calculator uses the current rules only. It will be updated to apply the new rules to people who leave after the start date.
The average daily wage is 9,000,000 ÷ 92 days = KRW 97,826 and 60% of it is KRW 58,695, so the floor of KRW 66,048 applies.
The benefit period runs from 2026-11-01 to 2027-10-31. To fit 270 days plus the 7-day wait, apply by 28 January 2027 at the latest.
The floor is 10,320 × 4 hours × 80% = KRW 33,024, scaled to contracted hours.
150 remaining days × KRW 66,048 × 1/2. Conditions apply, such as staying in the new job for 12 months or more.
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What it is, who it's for, how it works and why you'd use it.
A Korea Unemployment Benefit Calculator estimates the daily job-seeking benefit, the number of benefit days and the total under Korea's Employment Insurance Act, and shows the last day to apply to receive every day within the benefit period.
It is for employees in Korea who are resigning or reaching the end of a contract, people comparing a recommended resignation offer, job seekers, and staff at small companies who explain the benefit to departing employees.
The daily amount is 60% of the average daily wage over the last three months, capped at KRW 68,100 for people who left on or after 1 January 2026 and never below minimum wage × daily contracted hours × 80% (KRW 66,048 for 8 hours). The number of days, 120 to 270, comes from Annex 1 by age on the leaving date (50 or over) and insured period.
In 2026 the floor and cap are only KRW 2,052 apart, so most people get one or the other, and payment stops 12 months after the day after leaving even if days remain. People use it to plan living costs before leaving and to avoid applying too late.