Whether a part-time or short-hours job in Korea is covered by employment insurance is decided today (2026) by contractual working hours. Article 3(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Employment Insurance Act excludes a worker whose contractual hours at that business are under 60 a month or under 15 a week, and Article 3(2) brings back in anyone working 3 months or more in a row at that business and any daily worker. The Act’s Article 10 as amended on 17 March 2026 replaces this test from 1 January 2027 with “a worker whose pay is below an income threshold set by Presidential Decree” (Addenda Art. 1). Enter the date, hours and months worked, and the checker applies whichever test is in force on that date.
1. Today’s test (until 31 December 2026) — excluded if under 60 hours a month or under 15 hours a week. Falling short on either one is enough (Decree Art. 3(1)).
2. Covered anyway — anyone working 3 months or more in a row at that business, and daily workers (people hired for under 1 month, Act Art. 2 item 6), whatever the hours (Decree Art. 3(2)).
3. From 1 January 2027 — excluded if pay, not hours, is below the income threshold. Daily workers and those working 3 months or more stay covered, and someone with two or more jobs can apply to combine pay to reach the threshold (amended Art. 10(2)). The amount is to be set by Presidential Decree; as of 12 November the Decree’s Article 3 still has the hours test.
4. Our example — a part-timer on 14 hours a week and 60 a month, in month 2, is short of 15 weekly hours by 1 and is excluded. The same person in month 4 has worked 3 months or more in a row and is covered.
Checker
Short of 15 weekly hours by 0 · of 60 monthly hours by 0 · of 3 months by 0 · of the threshold by KRW 0
Results update as you type. A date up to 31 December 2026 uses the hours test in Decree Art. 3; a date from 1 January 2027 uses the income test in the amended Act Art. 10 (Addenda Art. 1 — the amended Art. 10 takes effect on 1 January 2027). We read “under 60 hours a month or under 15 hours a week” as excluding a worker who falls short on either one (our reading of the word “or”). For “working 3 months or more in a row” the checker takes months already worked — how a contract that is planned to last 3 months or more is treated is an interpretation this article did not read. The 2027 threshold field is blank because the Presidential Decree has not set it; any amount you enter is your own assumption. Public officials, people under the private school teachers’ pension, special post office staff and small non-corporate farms, forestry or fisheries (Act Art. 10(1) items 3–5, Decree Art. 3(3)) are outside this checker.
The provisions in force now — as written
| Provision | What the text says | Points to note (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Act Art. 10(1) item 2 (until 31 Dec 2026) | a worker whose contractual working hours at that business are below the hours set by Presidential Decree | The numbers are left to the Decree |
| Decree Art. 3(1) | “A worker whose contractual hours at that business are below the hours set by Presidential Decree” means a worker whose contractual hours at that business are under 60 hours in a month or under 15 hours in a week. (amended 27 June 2023) | Short on either threshold means excluded |
| Decree Art. 3(2) | Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a worker falling under either item is covered: 1. a worker working 3 months or more in a row at that business; 2. a daily worker | Two ways short hours are still covered |
| Act Art. 2 item 6 | “Daily worker” means a person hired for less than 1 month. | Not only one-day contracts |
| Act Art. 10(2) (current) | Chapters 4 and 5 do not apply to a person hired at 65 or over (except one who kept insured status from before 65 and stays employed after 65) or who starts self-employment. | Ch. 4 is unemployment benefits, Ch. 5 childcare-leave benefits etc. — becomes para. (3) from 2027 |
| Decree Art. 3(3) | 1. special post office staff; 2. workers at a farm, forestry or fishery business run by a non-corporation with 4 or fewer regular workers — who may still apply to join of their own will. | Exclusions unrelated to hours — outside the checker |
The other items of Act Art. 10(1) are public officials (special and fixed-term officials may join Chapter 4 only, by choice, item 3) and people covered by the Private School Teachers’ Pension Act (item 4). When a previously excluded worker becomes covered, insured status is acquired “on the day coverage begins” (Act Art. 13(1) item 1).
From 1 January 2027 — the amended text
| Provision | What the text says | Points to note (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Amended Art. 10(1) item 2 | a worker whose pay at that business is below the income threshold set by Presidential Decree (“income threshold”), excluding a worker whose pay fell below the threshold after acquiring insured status without leaving | Pay instead of hours — a later pay cut does not drop you before leaving |
| Amended Art. 10(2) | Notwithstanding paragraph (1) item 2, the Act applies to: 1. daily workers; 2. workers working 3 months or more in a row at that business; 3. workers below the threshold who are employed at two or more businesses at once and whose pay for the same period, combined, reaches the threshold (only those who apply to combine pay as set by Presidential Decree) | Item 3 is the new route — you must apply |
| Amended Art. 18(1) proviso | A worker insured under Article 10(2) item 3 acquires insured status at every business, as set by Presidential Decree. | Combined joiners are insured at all jobs, not one |
| Addenda Art. 1 | This Act takes effect on 1 January 2028, except that … the amended Article 10 and the proviso to Article 18(1) take effect on 1 January 2027. | Act No. 21473 (17 March 2026) |
| Addenda Art. 2 | A worker who acquired insured status before 1 January 2027 and on or after that date no longer meets the amended test keeps insured status under the former provisions until first leaving. | Those already insured are not dropped at once |
The amended text does not state the threshold amount; it leaves it to Presidential Decree. The Enforcement Decree we opened on 12 November (in force 18 September 2026, Presidential Decree No. 36588) still has the hours test in Article 3, so the 2027 amount field is left blank. When the Decree is amended we will fill in the amount and how “pay” is measured (monthly pay, or an average over some months) from its text.
Seven cases — our examples
| Case (our example) | Result | Points to note (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Nov 2026, 14 hours a week and 60 a month, month 2 | Excluded | short of 15 weekly hours by 1 — excluded even though 60 monthly hours are met |
| Same hours, month 4 | Covered | 3 months or more in a row (Art. 3(2) item 1) |
| 15 hours a week and 58 a month, month 2 | Excluded | short of 60 monthly hours by 2 — easy to miss if you only check the weekly figure |
| Daily worker, 10 hours a week and 40 a month | Covered | The hours test does not apply to daily workers (Art. 3(2) item 2) |
| 20 hours a week and 87 a month, month 1, newly hired at 66 | Covered — but not the unemployment benefit chapter | Act Art. 10(2) — Chapters 4 and 5 do not apply |
| 2 Mar 2027, month 2, threshold field left blank | Cannot judge yet | No amount in the Decree yet. If insured in 2026 and not yet left, status is kept (Addenda Art. 2) |
| 2 Mar 2027, two jobs paying KRW 600,000 and 500,000 a month, threshold assumed at KRW 1,000,000, applied to combine | Covered (combined) | KRW 1,000,000 is an assumption, not the real threshold. One job alone is short by KRW 400,000; the combined KRW 1,100,000 reaches it |
The first and third cases are why we built this. Remember only “15 hours a week” and you miss the worker who meets it but works so few days that the month comes to under 60 hours; remember only “60 hours a month” and you miss the worker on 14 hours a week whose month adds up to 60. The text joins the two thresholds with “or” (our reading).
From hours to income — what changes
Until the end of 2026 the threshold is how many hours you are contracted for, so a high hourly rate at 14 hours a week is still excluded and a low rate at 15 hours a week and 60 a month is covered. From 2027 the threshold is the pay you get at that business. Under both tests, daily workers and those working 3 months or more in a row are covered. What is new is the “application to combine” in amended Art. 10(2) item 3 — if each job is below the threshold but pay for the same period adds up to it, you can apply to join, and under the amended proviso to Art. 18(1) you are insured at every job, not just one. Today’s rule for someone with two employers, insured at only one (Decree Art. 11-2), is in the employment insurance two jobs checker.
People already insured are not dropped in 2027. Addenda Art. 2 says a worker insured before 1 January 2027 who no longer meets the new test keeps insured status under the former provisions “until first leaving”, and the bracket in amended Art. 10(1) item 2 also keeps out of the exclusion a worker whose pay fell below the threshold after joining, while still in the job.
Where coverage touches unemployment benefit
Time worked while excluded does not count toward the insured period for unemployment benefit (bracket in Act Art. 50(3) — see the insured period aggregation calculator). Eligibility is decided by 180 days of insured unit period in the 18 months before leaving (24 months for very-short-hours workers) — see the insured unit period calculator. Amounts and days are in the unemployment benefit calculator and premiums in the employment insurance premium calculator.
Checklist
- ☐ Weekly and monthly contractual hours in your employment contract (both)
- ☐ Whether you are a daily worker hired for under 1 month
- ☐ Whether you have worked 3 months or more in a row at this business
- ☐ Whether you were newly hired at 65 or over (not if insured continuously from before 65)
- ☐ From 2027: whether you were insured before 1 January 2027 and have not left, and whether the Decree now sets a threshold
- ☐ With two or more jobs: an application to combine pay (from 2027)
Questions that remain
My contract is for 6 months from the start but only 12 hours a week. Am I covered from month 1?
The text says only “a worker working 3 months or more in a row”. Whether that means from the point 3 months have been completed, or from the start for a contract planned to last 3 months or more, is an interpretation this article did not read. The checker takes months already worked, so for a judgment based on contract length ask a job centre or the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service.
My hours vary week to week. What are my “weekly contractual hours”?
Decree Art. 3 gives the numbers but no averaging method. The checker compares the figures you enter as they are — how to count varying weeks is not covered here.
What is the 2027 income threshold?
As of 12 November there is no amount in the Decree. The amended Act says only “an income threshold set by Presidential Decree”, and we have not confirmed any announcement or legislative notice as a primary source, so we give no figure. We will update when the Decree changes.
Do foreign workers, artists and platform workers use the same test?
Art. 10-2 deals with them separately. (1) The Act applies to foreign workers covered by the Act on the Employment of Foreign Workers, but Chapters 4 and 5 only on application under Ministry ordinance. (2) For other foreigners who sign an employment contract, an arts services contract or a platform labour contract, all or part of the Act applies as set by Presidential Decree, taking into account the scope of activity and length of stay of their status under Art. 10 of the Immigration Act. Artists and platform workers are not employees, so instead of the hours or income test in Art. 10 they follow the exclusions in Arts. 77-2 and 77-6 (an income standard set by Presidential Decree, which does not apply to contracts of under one month) (our reading). This checker only covers employees.
Sources
- Korea Law Information Center — Employment Insurance Act Arts. 2, 10, 10-2, 13, 18, 77-2 and 77-6, Addenda (Act No. 21473) Arts. 1 and 2 — original text (current page, in force 18 Sep 2026, Act No. 21473; checked 12 November 2026). The page carries both the current Art. 10 and the amended Arts. 10 and 18 in force from 1 January 2027; we set out both.
- Korea Law Information Center — Enforcement Decree of the Employment Insurance Act Art. 3 — original text (current page, in force 18 Sep 2026, Presidential Decree No. 36588; checked 12 November 2026). 60 hours a month, 15 hours a week, 3 months in a row, daily workers.
- Not read. The 2027 threshold amount (Decree not yet amended) and how “pay” is measured, the procedure for applying to combine pay (Presidential Decree), administrative interpretation of whether “3 months or more in a row” looks at contract length, how contractual hours are counted when weeks vary, Ministry of Employment and Labor press releases or legislative notices, the Enforcement Rule’s application forms, and the Presidential Decree under Art. 10-2(2) (how far the Act applies by residence status).
- What we added. Reading “or” as excluding a worker short on either threshold, splitting the two tests by the date entered, the shortfall arithmetic for hours, months and pay, the KRW 1,000,000 assumption in the 2027 example, and the “points to note” column.
Where to check further
- Job centres (Work24) and the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service — checking whether you are insured, coverage of very-short-hours workers, and notices on the 2027 income threshold.
Written on 12 November 2026. The content sets out the original texts; the readings and arithmetic are ours.
