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. Add the ones paid every month and it comes to ₩2,498,000, some ₩341,120 above the monthly conversion — and what counts is now settled from the statute and its supplementary provision.
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 have now settled from the text. See §the main text says 25 per cent; the supplementary provision makes it zero 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.
The 2027 minimum wage is already set — the pay table is not
As of 16 September 2026, when this was revisited, the 2027 minimum wage is already fixed: ₩10,700 an hour, ₩85,600 for an eight-hour day, ₩2,236,300 on the 209-hour monthly conversion. That is ₩380 (3.7%) above 2026 (Minimum Wage Council vote 14 July 2026; Ministry of Employment and Labor notice 5 August 2026). Which parts of a wage count toward it is set out in our 2027 minimum wage checker.
The 2027 civil-service pay table has not been published. So what follows is not a forecast — it is the two figures that exist today, placed side by side, on the assumption that base pay stays where it is.
| Post | Monthly amount | Against the 2027 minimum |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 minimum wage (209 hours) | ₩2,236,300 | 100.0 |
| Army second lieutenant, step 1 (2026 table) | ₩2,150,400 | 96.2 · −₩85,900 |
| General service grade 9, step 1 (2026 table) | ₩2,133,000 | 95.4 · −₩103,300 |
| Police constable · army sergeant, step 1 (2026 table) | ₩2,133,000 | 95.4 · −₩103,300 |
| School teacher, step 1 (2026 table) | ₩2,041,500 | 91.3 · −₩194,800 |
Grade-9 step 1 works out at ₩10,206 an hour against a 2027 minimum of ₩10,700 — a gap of ₩494, more than four times the ₩114 of 2026. To reach the 2027 monthly conversion, grade-9 base pay would have to rise by ₩103,300, or 4.84% (our calculation).
The caution above applies here too — this does not mean anyone is paid below the minimum wage. Base pay strips out allowances, and which allowances count is set out below, straight from the text.
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.
Sources added 17 September 2026. Minimum Wage Act (in force 26 May 2020, Act no. 17326) — art. 3 (scope; the exclusions name cohabiting relatives, domestic workers and seafarers, not public officials), art. 6(4) with items 2 and 3, and art. 2 of the supplementary provision to Act no. 15666 of 12 June 2018 (the year-by-year schedule ending at 0% from 2024). Enforcement Rule (in force 2 January 2026, Ministry of Employment and Labor Rule no. 459) — art. 2(1)1 (overtime and premiums excluded) and art. 2(2)2 (the long-service allowance named outright).
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 (2018) · ⚠️ those 25% and 7% figures are not the current ones — see §the supplementary provision below.
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).
Leaving the long-service allowance and holiday bonus out of that sum was right — the text confirms it. The opening words of art. 6(4) fence the whole calculation to “wages paid regularly, at least once a month”, and both are paid twice a year, outside that fence. Enforcement Rule art. 2(2)2 goes further and names the item outright: “a long-service allowance paid according to attendance over a period exceeding one month.” The text knows this allowance by name. Spreading the two over twelve months would add roughly ₩450,000 a month, but counting them that way is not what the text says.
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.
The main text says 25 per cent; the supplementary provision makes it zero
This is the gap the last version flagged — “we could not obtain that text.” We have it now. And reading the main text alone gets it wrong.
Minimum Wage Act, art. 6 (4) … wages paid regularly, at least once a month, are included. The following, however, are not:
2. a bonus, or anything equivalent … the portion of its monthly payment equal to 25/100 of the monthly conversion of that year’s hourly minimum wage
3. meal, lodging, transport and similar allowances for living support or welfare … (b) the portion of the monthly payment in cash equal to 7/100 of that monthly conversion
That is the main text. But art. 2 of the supplementary provision to Act no. 15666 (12 June 2018) says that “notwithstanding” those amendments, the figures 25/100 and 7/100 shall instead be the following — shrinking year by year.
| Year | Bonus excluded (main text 25%) | Welfare allowance excluded (main text 7%) |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 20% | 5% |
| 2021 | 15% | 3% |
| 2022 | 10% | 2% |
| 2023 | 5% | 1% |
| 2024 onward | 0% | 0% |
From 2024 both are zero. An exclusion rate of zero means the whole amount counts. So the ₩160,000 meal allowance and the ₩175,000 position allowance both count in full, as long as they are paid monthly. The ₩2,498,000 above has nothing to be shaved off it.
📌 The main text’s numbers are the ones no longer in use. Open the Act at art. 6(4) and it reads as though 25% and 7% come out; the supplementary provision took both to zero in 2024. The main text was never rewritten — it was covered over — so explanations that quote only the main text have been stale for six years. The 2018 material above is one; so was the previous version of this article.
What about overtime pay?
That one is out. Art. 6(4)1 excludes wages other than those paid for contractual working hours or days, as prescribed by ministerial rule, and Enforcement Rule art. 2(1)1 opens that list with “wages for overtime or holiday work, and premiums for overtime, night or holiday work.” However many extra hours are worked, they do not enter the minimum-wage calculation — which is why they are not in the sum above either.
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?
Yes — one year. The Public Officials Remuneration Regulation, art. 13(1), states that “the period required to advance one step shall be one year”, and art. 13(3) that “a public official’s step advances on the first day of the month” (with a proviso for constitutional research officers and others). The local regulation carries the same wording at art. 12. Prior service is handled by art. 8: where periods overlap, the step is fixed on whichever single record is more favourable, with the remainder counted in. 🔴 This article had already verified that at the portal on 26 August 2026 and written it into §local government and the source list — only this question still said we could not. Noting the correction rather than hiding it.
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 — from the “minimum wage by year” table: 2026 at ₩10,320 an hour and ₩2,156,880 for 209 hours, and 2027 at ₩10,700 an hour, ₩85,600 for eight hours, ₩2,236,300 for 209 hours, up 3.7% (₩380), voted 14 July 2026 and noticed 5 August 2026. Checked 16 September 2026. Minimum Wage Council, current minimum wage — ⚠️ the
about/mainStatus.doaddress we had linked no longer opens; it was replaced here. - 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
- The 2027 civil-service pay table. The minimum wage was noticed on 5 August 2026, but the pay table has not been published — the 2027 comparison above is the 2026 table against the 2027 minimum. Pay tables normally arrive with the year-end amendment to the Public Officials Remuneration Regulation.
- 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.
- Whether the position allowance falls under item 3 as a “welfare” allowance. Since 2024 the exclusion rate is zero under both item 2 and item 3, so the answer is “counted in full” either way. Which item it lands in is not settled by the text alone — and because the outcome is the same, it does not affect the arithmetic here.
Written in August 2026 and extended on 17 September — the scope of minimum-wage inclusion and the step-advancement cycle are now settled from the statutory text. 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 text of the Minimum Wage Act, its supplementary provision and its Enforcement Rule; 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.
