Every year, newly appointed grade-9 civil servants in Korea open their first payslip and think the same thing: “The pay table said ₩2.13 million — why is this even less?”
This time we went to the table itself: the Ministry of Personnel Management's Public Officials Remuneration Regulation, Pay Table 3. Grade 9, step 1 is indeed ₩2,133,000 a month. Then we set that figure beside the 2026 minimum wage, and something unexpected showed up.
1. What it comes to. Grade 9, step 1: base pay of ₩2,133,000. From that, the civil-service pension takes 9.0% of standard monthly income, and allowances are added under a separate regulation — which is why the table figure is never the bank figure.
2. What people get wrong. “Grade-9 base pay is below the minimum wage” is not the same as a breach. What counts toward the minimum wage is not base pay alone but every wage paid regularly, at least once a month.
3. What to do. Watch the step, not the grade — grades 8 and 9 differ by only ₩29,100 at step 1, and a step comes every one year. Local government officials use the same table.
Grade-9 step-1 base pay of ₩2,133,000 is ₩23,880 below the 2026 minimum wage converted to a month of 209 hours (₩2,156,880). But “base pay” on the table excludes allowances, and whether that breaches the minimum wage depends on which allowances count toward it — something we could not verify.
What the table actually says
Pay Table 3 covers general-service officials and the special and political-service posts treated as equivalent. Amounts are stated as monthly pay, in won.
| Grade | Step 1 | Gap to the grade below |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 5 | ₩2,896,400 | +₩506,900 |
| Grade 6 | ₩2,389,500 | +₩72,400 |
| Grade 7 | ₩2,317,100 | +₩155,000 |
| Grade 8 | ₩2,162,100 | +₩29,100 |
| Grade 9 | ₩2,133,000 | — |
Grade 8 starts only ₩29,100 above grade 9 — about a fifth of the grade 7-to-8 gap of ₩155,000 (our calculation). In the exam world these are entirely different targets; on the pay table their starting points nearly touch.
Which means a few steps outrun a grade. Reading Table 3 down each column —
· Grade 9 at step 3 (₩2,168,000) passes grade 8 at step 1 (₩2,162,100).
· Grade 9 at step 8 (₩2,367,500) passes grade 7 at step 1 (₩2,317,100).
(Our comparison. Base pay only — position allowances differ by grade.)
Set beside the minimum wage
The Minimum Wage Council set the 2026 minimum wage at ₩10,320 an hour. Multiplied by the standard monthly conversion of 209 hours, that is ₩2,156,880. Setting that to 100, here is where each table's step 1 lands.
| Post | Monthly base | Index | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum wage, 209 hours | ₩2,156,880 | 100.0 | — |
| Army second lieutenant, step 1 | ₩2,150,400 | 99.7 | −₩6,480 |
| General service grade 9, step 1 | ₩2,133,000 | 98.9 | −₩23,880 |
| Police constable · army sergeant, step 1 | ₩2,133,000 | 98.9 | −₩23,880 |
| School teacher, step 1 | ₩2,041,500 | 94.7 | −₩115,380 |
Divide grade-9 step-1 pay by 209 hours and you get ₩10,206 an hour (our calculation) — ₩114 under the minimum wage.
Stop there. This does not mean civil servants are paid below the minimum wage. Base pay on the table strips out meal allowance, position allowance, overtime and the rest, and compliance turns on which of those count toward the minimum wage — a question we could not settle. It is listed under “What we could not verify” below.
What the comparison does show is structural. The grade-9 starting line sits just below the minimum wage on base pay alone, and allowances close the gap. That is why a first payslip carries so many separate line items.
Steps do not rise evenly
The grade-9 column runs from step 1 to step 31. We subtracted every neighbouring pair.
| Steps | Increase | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 → 2 | ₩14,600 | smallest of the 30 |
| 4 → 5 | ₩32,100 | — |
| 8 → 9 | ₩89,200 | largest · 6.1x the first step |
| 15 → 16 | ₩70,000 | — |
| 30 → 31 | ₩32,700 | tapering again |
“Pay rises a little every year” is only half true. The shape is a hill, not a slope — thin at the start, steep around steps 8 and 9, then gentle again. New appointees who say the second and third years feel flat are not imagining it; the table says so.
From ₩2,133,000 at step 1 to ₩3,731,100 at step 31, the full range is 1.75x (our calculation).
Grade 9, steps 1 to 10
| Step | Monthly base pay | Step | Monthly base pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ₩2,133,000 | 6 | ₩2,264,600 |
| 2 | ₩2,147,600 | 7 | ₩2,309,900 |
| 3 | ₩2,168,000 | 8 | ₩2,367,500 |
| 4 | ₩2,194,000 | 9 | ₩2,456,700 |
| 5 | ₩2,226,100 | 10 | ₩2,542,700 |
To put a grade and step in yourself, the civil service pay calculator covers the whole of Schedule 3.
Six different posts start at the same number
There is not one pay table but several, one per occupational group — and six of them begin at exactly the same amount.
- Table 3 — general service, grade 9 ₩2,133,000
- Table 3-2 — career specialist, group C ₩2,133,000
- Table 4 — public safety service, grade 9 ₩2,133,000
- Table 8 — postal service, grade 9 ₩2,133,000
- Table 10 — police constable and firefighter ₩2,133,000
- Table 13 — army sergeant (staff sergeant, non-conscript) ₩2,133,000
Same starting point — then they diverge at step 2. General service goes to ₩2,147,600, public safety to ₩2,148,600, a police constable to ₩2,155,600 (our comparison). Equal origin, different slope.
Teachers are the exception. Table 11, covering kindergarten through high school, starts at ₩2,041,500 — ₩91,500 below the other six.
Why the table and the bank balance differ
The table gives one line: base pay. Actual pay is that base plus allowances, then minus contributions and tax.
Take-home = base pay + allowances − (civil-service pension, health insurance, income tax, etc.)
Civil servants belong to the civil-service pension scheme, not the national pension. We did open the agency source for that rate this time.
| Item | Government Employees Pension Service source text |
|---|---|
| Contribution (member) | 9.0% of standard monthly income |
| Employer contribution | 9.0% of the remuneration budget |
| Phase-in | 8% in 2016 → 8.25% → 8.5% → 8.75% → 9% from 2020 |
| Contribution period | Up to 36 years (33 for those with 21+ years of service as of 31 Dec 2015) |
Member and state each pay the same 9.0%. Set against the national pension's 9.5% in 2026 (half, or 4.75%, for employees), the member's own share is roughly double — and the benefit structure differs too. The national scheme is covered in our national pension guide.
This article still does not state a take-home figure. We have the rate, but not the standard monthly income (which includes allowances) or the allowance amounts — so there is nothing to multiply it by. Better no figure than one built on a base we could not verify. For how the private-sector deductions work, see our net salary calculator and net pay table, which use the four agencies' own published rates.
What the pay table leaves out
A step comes every year, and always on the 1st of a month
The pay table carries amounts by step and nothing about when a step arrives. That sits in the advancement provisions of the same Remuneration Regulation.
“The period required for advancement between steps ('advancement period') shall be one year.”
“A public official's step advances as of the 1st day of a month.”
— Public Officials Remuneration Regulation, Article 13 (regular advancement)
One step per year, taking effect on the 1st. Because appointment months differ, the advancement month differs from person to person.
Article 13(1) carries a proviso — constitutional research officers are not on a one-year cycle. It does not touch grade 9 general service, but it means “the advancement period is always one year” is not quite true, so we note it.
Prior service counts when the initial step is set. Article 8 provides that “where periods of service overlap, only the one more favourable shall be counted,” and that “any remaining period not reflected in the initial step shall be counted toward the next advancement period.” No months are simply discarded.
Local government officials use the same table
The figures here are for national civil servants — but local officials are not on a separate table. Article 4 of the Local Public Officials Remuneration Regulation states, for general-service officials, that “Pay Table 3 of the Public Officials Remuneration Regulation shall apply mutatis mutandis.” Advancement matches too: Article 12 of the same regulation carries the identical wording — one year, effective the 1st.
Both regulations have now been cross-checked at the national statute portal. Last time our tooling could not read that site, so we used a private statute database. We have since opened the Public Officials Remuneration Regulation (in force 1 August 2026, Presidential Decree 36547), arts. 8(2), 8(5), 13(1) and 13(3), and the Local Public Officials Remuneration Regulation (in force 1 August 2026, Presidential Decree 36548), arts. 4(3) and 12, and every quotation matched word for word. The check also turned up the proviso above. The pay figures are Ministry of Personnel Management source text, and table 3's grade 9 step 1 of 2,133,000 won read the same at the portal.
We now have the allowance amounts — Tables 2 and 15
Last time this article said allowances “sit in a separate regulation whose annexed tables we could not open.” We have them now.
| Allowance | Basis | Grade 9, step 1 | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Position allowance | Table 15 | ₩175,000 (grades 8–9) | Monthly |
| Long-service supplement | Table 2, item 2 | ₩30,000 (under 5 years) | Monthly |
| Long-service allowance | Table 2, item 1 | 10% of base pay (under 2 years) = ₩213,300 | Twice a year (Jan, Jul) |
| Holiday bonus | Art. 18-3 | 60% of base pay = ₩1,279,800 | Twice a year (Seollal, Chuseok) |
| Meal allowance | Art. 18 | ₩160,000 (same for all grades) | Monthly |
The long-service allowance steps up with years served. Table 2, item 1 verbatim: 10% under 2 years → 20% under 5 → 25% under 6 → 30% under 7 → 35% under 8 → 40% under 9 → 45% under 10 → 50% at 10 or more. “Base pay” is defined in the notes as “the monthly base pay on the pay table as of 1 January and 1 July.”
The supplement splits the same way — ₩30,000 under 5 years / ₩50,000 at 5–10 / ₩60,000 at 10–15 / ₩80,000 at 15–20 / ₩100,000 at 20+ per month, with a further ₩10,000 at 20–25 years and ₩30,000 at 25+.
Why “below the minimum wage” cannot be read literally
Above, base pay of ₩2,133,000 came out ₩23,880 below the monthly minimum-wage conversion. But base pay is not the whole of what is compared. The Ministry of Employment and Labor states the inclusion rule as follows.
“Wages paid regularly, at least once a month, are included in the minimum wage.”
Excluded: overtime and similar premiums; the portion of a bonus equal to 25% of the monthly conversion of that year's hourly minimum wage; and meal, lodging and transport allowances paid in kind or up to 7% of that monthly conversion.
— Ministry of Employment and Labor, explanatory material on the amended Minimum Wage Act's scope of inclusion
Now we can put numbers on those “paid regularly every month” items. Taking only the monthly rows from the table above:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Grade 9, step 1 base pay | ₩2,133,000 |
| Position allowance (monthly) | +₩175,000 |
| Long-service supplement (monthly) | +₩30,000 |
| Meal allowance (monthly) | +₩160,000 |
| Total | ₩2,498,000 |
| 2026 minimum wage, monthly conversion | ₩2,156,880 |
| Difference | +₩341,120 |
Those three monthly items put it ₩341,000 above the monthly minimum-wage conversion (our calculation). Per hour that is ₩11,952 against a minimum wage of ₩10,320. “Base pay is below the minimum wage” is true — but it does not mean anyone is paid below the minimum wage.
The meal allowance has its amount written straight into the article.
“Public officials shall be paid a meal allowance of ₩160,000 per month within budget, on the salary payment date.”
— Regulation on Allowances for Public Officials, art. 18 (Presidential Decree No. 36015, in force 2 January 2026)
It is the same amount at every grade, so it weighs more the lower the base pay. For grade 9 step 1, the ₩365,000 of monthly allowances is 14.6% of the total (our calculation).
The long-service allowance and holiday bonus are left out of that sum. Both are paid twice a year, so they may not meet the Ministry of Employment and Labor's “paid regularly, at least once a month” test. Whether twice-yearly payments count is still unconfirmed — though spreading them over twelve months would add roughly ₩450,000 a month and widen the gap further (our calculation).
So this article still takes no position on whether it is a breach. That would first require settling whether the Minimum Wage Act applies to public officials at all — left in “Where to check further” below.
One caveat: the excluded percentages were scheduled to shrink year by year under a supplementary provision, and we could not obtain that text. The quotation above is from the 2018 amendment material, so the current percentages may differ.
Questions that remain
Does ₩2,133,000 land in the account?
No. It is one line item. Allowances are added and contributions taken out first. Read the “base pay” row and the “net payment” row of a payslip side by side and the structure becomes clear.
Why does the first paycheck feel so small?
It falls in a month with no holiday or longevity bonus — and the step 1 to step 2 increase, ₩14,600, is the smallest of all 30 intervals. The thinnest stretch really is at the beginning.
Is the gap between grades 8 and 9 large?
₩29,100 at step 1 — small next to the ₩155,000 between grades 7 and 8. Grade 9 at step 3 already passes grade 8 at step 1 on base pay.
Do police, firefighters and soldiers use this table?
No — Table 10 and Table 13 respectively. But a constable and a sergeant both start at the same ₩2,133,000 as a grade-9 official.
Does a step come every year?
We could not verify the advancement cycle or how prior service is credited. This article covers how much a step is worth, not when it arrives.
Sources
- Ministry of Personnel Management — agency source — Public Officials Remuneration Regulation, Pay Table 3 (general-service officials and equivalents, under Article 5 and Table 1). Source for grade 9 steps 1–31, the step-1 figures for grades 5 through 8, and the gaps between grades. Amounts are the table's own monthly figures in won. Ministry of Personnel Management, civil service pay
- Ministry of Personnel Management — agency source — the same regulation's Tables 3-2, 4, 8, 10, 11 and 13, used to compare steps 1 and 2 across occupational groups.
- Minimum Wage Council — agency source — 2026 minimum wage of ₩10,320 an hour and the 209-hour monthly conversion giving ₩2,156,880. Minimum Wage Council, current minimum wage
- Our own calculation — the index against the minimum wage, the gaps of ₩23,880 and ₩115,380, the hourly figure of ₩10,206, all 30 step increments, the 1.75x range and the crossover points at steps 3 and 8 are ours, derived from the table.
- Government Employees Pension Service — agency source — “Contributions and employer contributions” (checked August 2026). Source for 9.0% of standard monthly income, 9.0% of the remuneration budget, the 2016–2020 phase-in, and the 36-year contribution cap.
- Ministry of Employment and Labor — agency source — explanatory material on the amended Minimum Wage Act's scope of inclusion (checked August 2026). Source for “wages paid regularly, at least once a month, are included,” and the overtime / 25% bonus / 7% welfare exclusions. Material from the 2018 amendment; the percentages may since have changed under the phase-in.
- Regulation on Allowances for Public Officials, art. 18 (meal allowance) — Presidential Decree No. 36015 (in force 2 January 2026, Ministry of Personnel Management). Source for “a meal allowance of ₩160,000 per month, paid on the salary payment date.” The same article excludes public health doctors, public-service lawyers, overseas-posted officials and several other categories.
- Regulation on Allowances for Public Officials — annexed tables — [Table 2] long-service allowance schedule (under art. 7(1), amended 3 Jan 2025) and [Table 15] position allowance schedule (under art. 18-6, amended 2 Jan 2026). Source for the 10–50% long-service rates by years served, the monthly supplement of ₩30,000–100,000 plus the additional tier, the definition of “monthly base pay,” and the ₩175,000 position allowance for grades 8–9.
- Public Officials Remuneration Regulation arts. 8, 13 and table 3; Local Public Officials Remuneration Regulation arts. 4 and 12 — source for the one-year advancement period and advancement on the 1st, counting only the more favourable overlapping service and carrying the remainder forward, and local officials applying Pay Table 3 mutatis mutandis. Cross-checked against the national statute portal on 26 August 2026 — Presidential Decree 36547 and Decree 36548 respectively, both in force 1 August 2026. Every quotation matched, and the art. 13(1) proviso on constitutional research officers was added to the body as a result.
Where to check further
- Whether twice-yearly payments count toward the minimum wage. The sum above uses monthly payments only. The long-service allowance (10–50% of base pay) and holiday bonus (60%) are paid twice a year, so whether they meet the “paid regularly, at least once a month” test is the open question — check with Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor counselling line, 1350. Including them would add roughly ₩450,000 a month (our calculation).
- Whether the Minimum Wage Act applies to civil servants at all. Article 3 excludes only businesses employing solely cohabiting relatives, domestic workers, and seafarers — there is no wording excluding public officials. But we also found no agency source stating that it does apply, so this article takes no position. Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor counselling line, 1350, is the accurate route.
- The current exclusion percentages. The quotation above is from the 2018 amendment material, and we could not obtain the supplementary provision that shrinks those percentages year by year. For today's figures, check with the Minimum Wage Commission or the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
As of August 2026. Every won figure comes from the Ministry of Personnel Management's own tables, the pension contribution rate from the Government Employees Pension Service, and the minimum-wage inclusion rule from the Ministry of Employment and Labor; the indices, gaps and increments are our arithmetic. Allowances and deductions are not included — for an actual figure, check your institution's payslip. For pay by grade and step see the civil service pay table guide, for a private-sector comparison the net pay table, for the hourly side the part-time pay calculator, and for what comes after service retirement preparation by age.
