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Dismissal notice in Korea: 30 days' notice or 30 days' pay in lieu, the written-notice rule, exceptions and a calculator
Numbers checked against the official source on 2026-10-19
Under Article 26 of the Labor Standards Act, an employer must give a worker at least 30 days' notice before dismissing them, or pay at least 30 days of ordinary wage instead. There are three exceptions: the worker has been employed continuously for less than 3 months, an unavoidable event such as a natural disaster makes it impossible to continue the business, or the worker deliberately caused serious damage as defined by a ministry ordinance. Article 27 also requires the employer to give the reason and date of dismissal in writing, and a dismissal is not effective without it. A dismissal also needs a justifiable reason (Article 23(1)). The law has no nationality condition.
Law text: Labor Standards Act (근로기준법), shown on the National Law Information Center as "[시행 2026. 10. 8.] [법률 제21533호, 2026. 4. 7., 일부개정]" (labelled 시행예정법령, but the date has passed) and its Enforcement Decree "[시행 2025. 10. 23.]". Each article read has its last revision mark earlier than 2026-10-08 (Article 26: 2019; Article 27: 2014; Article 110: 2021; Articles 23 and 28 carry no revision marks), so the text equals the version in force today. Read on 2026-10-19. Not legal advice; confirm with the labour office.
Decision table: do I get 30 days' notice or pay?
| Situation | 30 days' notice or 30 days' pay (Article 26)? | Written reason and date (Article 27)? |
|---|---|---|
| Normal dismissal, employed 3 months or more | Yes: notice at least 30 days before, or pay at least 30 days of ordinary wage | Yes |
| Dismissal for business reasons (the Article 26 text says it includes "경영상 이유에 의한 해고") | Yes, same rule | Yes |
| Employed continuously for less than 3 months | No: exception in Article 26 item 1 | Yes |
| Natural disaster or other unavoidable event makes it impossible to continue the business | No: exception in Article 26 item 2 | Yes |
| Worker deliberately caused major harm to the business or loss of property, in a way set by ministry ordinance | No: exception in Article 26 item 3 | Yes |
| Employer gave the 30-day notice in writing, stating the reason and the date | Notice met | Counts as the written notice (Article 27(3)) |
The Act applies to workplaces that regularly employ 5 or more workers; for 4 or fewer, only parts apply as set out in a table in the decree (Article 11); ask the labour office if your workplace is that small.
Rules in plain words
- Notice or pay. Article 26: "at least 30 days before" the dismissal, or if that is not done, "30일분 이상의 통상임금" (at least 30 days of ordinary wage). The text does not say how a notice shorter than 30 days is counted, so confirm with the labour office what applies to you.
- Ordinary wage. The decree (Article 6) defines it as the hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or piece-rate amount fixed to be paid regularly and uniformly for scheduled work. A daily-wage amount is divided by the scheduled hours per day to give the hourly amount.
- Written notice. Article 27(1) and (2): the employer must tell the worker the reason and the date in writing; a dismissal without that notice has no effect.
- Justifiable reason. Article 23(1): no dismissal, suspension, demotion or other punishment without a justifiable reason.
- Protected periods. Article 23(2): no dismissal while the worker is off to recover from a work injury or illness and for 30 days afterwards, or during maternity leave and for 30 days afterwards, unless the employer made the lump-sum compensation under Article 84 or the business cannot continue.
- If you think it was unfair. Article 28: you can ask the Labour Relations Commission for a remedy, within 3 months of the dismissal.
- Penalty for no notice. Article 110 item 1 includes Article 26: up to 2 years in prison or a fine of up to KRW 20 million.
Notice-pay calculator
This works out the amount for the 30 days of ordinary wage, as the Article 26 text states. Enter either your daily ordinary wage, or leave it empty and enter an hourly ordinary wage and the scheduled hours per day.
Not covered: which pay items count as ordinary wage, partial notice, the three exceptions other than the 3-month rule, workplaces with 4 or fewer workers. This is not the unfair-dismissal compensation or back pay, which the Labour Relations Commission decides.
Where the sources differ
| Item | Labor Standards Act (in force 2026-10-08) | Easy Law English page (foreign workers) | What we show |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exceptions to the 30-day rule | Article 26: under 3 months of continuous service; unavoidable event; worker's deliberate serious harm | Cites "Article 35" and decree Article 16: daily worker under 3 months; fixed-term not over 2 months; monthly-paid under 6 months; seasonal not over 6 months; intern not over 3 months | The dated law is the headline. Article 35 now reads "삭제 <2019. 1. 15.>" (deleted), so the Easy Law list is out of date. |
| Penalty for no notice | Article 110 item 1: up to 2 years or KRW 20 million | Up to 2 years or KRW 10 million | Law: KRW 20 million. |
Related: severance pay calculator and minimum wage 2026. If you are owed money after you leave, see the unpaid wages page. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Checked 2026-10-19.
Official sources
- National Law Information Center — Labor Standards Act, Article 26 — 30 days' notice or 30 days of ordinary wage; three exceptions; in force 2026-10-08 (checked 2026-10-19)
- National Law Information Center — Labor Standards Act, Article 27 — written notice of reason and date; effective only if written (checked 2026-10-19)
- National Law Information Center — Labor Standards Act, Articles 23, 28 — justifiable reason; protected periods; remedy within 3 months (Article 28) (checked 2026-10-19)
- National Law Information Center — Labor Standards Act, Articles 11, 35, 110 — 5-worker threshold; Article 35 deleted 2019; penalty for Article 26 (checked 2026-10-19)
- National Law Information Center — Enforcement Decree of the Labor Standards Act (full text, in force 2025-10-23) — Article 6: ordinary wage definition (checked 2026-10-19)
- Easy to Find, Practical Law — Foreign workers' employment: protection under labor laws — English summary with an older exception list and penalty; no revision date printed (read on 2026-10-19) (checked 2026-10-19)
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