Labor Standards Act
Section 1

Employers must comply with the following items and procedures to ensure they are in harmony with the Labor Standards Act.





1) An employer shall make a labor contract with all employees hired directly by the company.





(1) An employer shall make a labor contract with all employees hired directly by the company, regardless of type of occupation, working period, etc.
(2) Any labor contract that establishes conditions of labor that do not meet the standards provided by law shall be invalid to that extent. The law shall govern those conditions invalidated in accordance with the above.
(3) In order to prevent disputes between the employer and the employed, a written labor contract is required so both parties can be sure of the details of employment.




2) An employer shall clearly state the terms of employment at the time the labor contract is made.
※ Punishable by a fine not to exceed five million WON




Statement of Terms of Employment (Article 17 of the LSA, Article 8 of the Enforcement Decree)
(1) An employer shall clearly state remuneration, contractual working hours, holidays, annual paid leave, and other terms of employment. For matters as to each constituent items of remuneration, the methods of calculation and payment, holidays, and annual paid leave shall be specified in writing and the employee contract shall be issued to the employee.
(2) Working Conditions to be specified:
1) Remuneration; 2) Contractual working hours; 3) Holidays; 4) Annual paid leave; 5) Place of employment and work to be performed; 6) Matters to be stipulated in the Rules of Employment (ROE); and 7) Matters determined by dormitory rules, in case of having workers lodge in a dormitory attached to the workplace





3) A Registry of the workers shall be made and preserved.
※ Punishable by a fine not to exceed five million WON




Registry of Workers and Preservation of Documents regarding Contract (Article 41, 42 of the LSA)
(1) An employer shall maintain a registry of workers, preserve a registry of workers and other important documents regarding labor contract for three years.
1) Matters to Be Entered in Register of Workers① Name; ② Sex; ③ Date of birth;④ Address; ⑤ Personal history; ⑥ Type of work to be performed;⑦ Date of employment or renewal of employment, a contractual period if any period determined, and other matters relating to employment; ⑧ Date of dismissal, retirement or death, and the reasons thereof; and ⑨ Other necessary matters
2) Important Documents Regarding Labor Contracts ① Labor contracts; ② Wage ledgers;③ Documents pertaining to the basis for the determination, payment method and calculation of wages; ④ Documents pertaining to employment, dismissal or retirement; ⑤ Documents pertaining to promotion or demotion;⑥ Documents pertaining to leaves of absence;⑦ Documents pertaining to approval or authorization;⑧ Documents of written agreements; and ⑨ Documents pertaining to the minor certification.





4) For each minor under 18, an employer shall keep in the workplace a certificate proving his/her family relationships and written consent of his/her parent or guardian.
※ Punishable by a fine not to exceed five million WON





A Minor Certificate (Article 66 of the Labor Standards Act) must be on file.





5) When an employer intends to have a female aged 18 or older work at night and on holidays, the employer shall obtain the consent of the female concerned.
※ Punishable by imprisonment of up to two years, or by a fine not to exceed ten million WON





Restrictions on Night Work and Holiday Work (Article 70 of the LSA)
When an employer intends to have a female aged 18 or older work from 10 P.M. to 6 A.M and on holidays, the employer shall obtain the consent of the female concerned.




6) An employer shall not have a pregnant female, or one who is younger than 18, work at night or on holidays.
※ Punishable by imprisonment of up to two years, or by a fine not to exceed ten million WON




Restrictions on Night Work and Holiday Work (Article 70 of the LSA)
(1) If an employer intends to have a pregnant female, or one who is younger than 18, work from 10 P.M to 6 A.M. and on holiday, the employer shall obtain consent of the employees and permission from the Minister of Labor.
(2) In the case of a pregnant female, the employer can have the employee work at nighttime and on holiday only when she makes a request and the employer receives permission from the Minister of Labor
(3) An employer, before obtaining permission from the Minister of Labor, shall consult in good faith with a workers' representative of the business or workplace concerned as to whether there will be night work or holiday work and its implementation methods for workers' health and maternity protection.





7) Contractual working hours for employees shall not exceed forty hours per week and eight hours per day, excluding recess hours.
※ Punishable by imprisonment of up to two years, or by a fine not to exceed ten million WON




Working hours (Article 50 and Article 69 of the LSA)
(1) Working hours per week shall not exceed forty hours excluding recess hours, and Working hours per day shall not exceed eight hours excluding recess hours.
(2) The workers' waiting hours under the employer's direction and supervision to work shall be regarded as working hours. (implemented from Aug 2, 2012).
(3) Working hours of a person aged between 15 and 18 shall not exceed seven hours per day and forty hours per week.
(4) Working hours exceeding contractual working hours shall be paid with an added allowance for extended working hours.





8) Extended working hours beyond 40 shall be implemented with the agreement of the affected employee, and shall not exceed 12 hours per week.
※ Punishable by imprisonment of up to two years, or by a fine not to exceed ten million WON





Restriction on Extended Working Hours (Article 53 of the LSA)
If the parties concerned reach agreement, the number of working hours stipulated in Article 50 may be extended by a maximum of twelve hours per week.





9) An employer shall pay an additional fifty percent or more of the ordinary wages for extended work, night work, or holiday work.
※ Punishable by imprisonment of up to three years, or by a fine not to exceed twenty million WON




Extended Work, Night Work, and Holiday Work (Article 56 of the LSA)
(1) Night work means the work provided from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., and holiday work means the work exempt from duty to provide labor stipulated by the law, collective agreement, Rules of Employment (ROE) or labor contract
(2) Calculation method of ordinary wages: The term “ordinary wages” means hourly wages, daily wages, weekly wages, monthly wages, or contract wages that are determined to be paid periodically or in lump sum to an employee for his/her prescribed work or whole work.
① In the case of wages determined on an hourly basis, the amount of the hourly wages;
② In the case of wages determined on a daily basis, the amount calculated by dividing the daily wages by the number of contractual working hours per day;
③ In the case of wages determined on a weekly basis, the amount calculated by dividing the weekly wages by the number of hours based on which weekly ordinary wages are calculated ;
④ In the case of wages determined on a monthly basis, the amount calculated by dividing the monthly wages by the number of hours (one-twelfth of the number of hours calculated by multiplying the number of hours based on which weekly ordinary wages