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What Changes in Korea in 2027 — Minimum Wage 10,700 Won, a Jobseeker Benefit Floor Above the Cap, Child Allowance to Under 10
Settled changes, government proposals and not-yet-announced figures in separate tables. Minimum wage 10,700 won, health insurance frozen at 7.19%, a jobseeker benefit floor of 68,480 won above the 68,100 cap, and the marriage credit ending with registrations on 31 December 2026.
Working in Korea — Pay, Leave, Unemployment Benefit and Severance, From Your First Day to Your Last (2026)
A written contract is required even with 4 or fewer workers; the 50% overtime premium is not. Jobseeker benefit needs 180 insured days in 18 months, and severance goes to an IRP within 14 days. Our 53 guides, in the order you meet the questions.
Foreign Dividend Tax Credit Calculator (Korea) — 14% Withholding Minus Foreign Tax, the Comprehensive-Tax Credit Limit and a 10-Year Carry-Forward
If tax was taken abroad on a foreign dividend, Korean withholding is 14% minus that foreign tax, and nil if the foreign tax is larger (Income Tax Act Art. 129(4)). On a 1 million won dividend with 10% taken abroad, Korean income tax is 40,000 won.
Interest and Dividend Income Timing Checker (Korea) — Deposit Interest When Actually Paid, Dividends on the Resolution Date, and Which Year's 20 Million Won
Which year interest or dividends belong to is set by Income Tax Act Enforcement Decree Arts. 45 and 46: deposit interest when actually paid, the cancellation date if cancelled, and surplus dividends on the resolution date. 6 million won of interest paid on 28 December 2026 is 2026 income; paid on 4 January 2027, it is 2027 income.
Foreign Dividends and Interest Tax Filing Checker (Korea) — Not Withheld in Korea Means Added Even Under 20 Million Won, File in May
Income Tax Act Art. 14(3)6 keeps interest and dividends out of comprehensive income only if they total 20 million won or less and were withheld. So 3 million won of dividends paid straight to an overseas account is added even alongside 5 million won of Korean interest, and must be reported between 1 and 31 May next year.
Tax-Free Comprehensive Savings Checker (Korea) — Seniors on the Basic Pension, Disabled People and Five More Groups, 50 Million Won, Join by 31 December 2028
Restriction of Special Taxation Act Art. 88-2 charges no income tax on interest and dividends when one of seven groups, such as people 65 or over on the basic pension or registered disabled people, joins by 31 December 2028 with up to 50 million won per person. 50 million won at 3% for 12 months saves 231,000 won.
Interest Income Tax Calculator (Korea) — 15.4% Is 14% Income Tax Plus 1.4% Local Tax, 27.5% on Private-Loan Interest, Small Dividends Untaxed
Under Income Tax Act Art. 129, withholding tax on interest and dividends is 14% by default, and local income tax adds 10% of that, making 15.4%. Interest on a loan to a person is 25%, unconfirmed-name income 45%. Deposit interest of 1,000,000 won loses 154,000 won, leaving 846,000.
Dividend Gross-Up Calculator (Korea) — 11% Added to Dividends Above 20 Million Won, Then Credited Back as the Dividend Tax Credit
Once interest and dividends pass 20 million won a year, Korea adds 11% to dividends from Korean companies and gives the same amount back as a dividend tax credit. Interest fills the line first, so 5 million won of interest and 30 million won of dividends put 15 million won over it, with 1.65 million won added.
Phone-Scam Refund Calculator (Korea) — Freeze, Extinction Two Months After Notice, Pro Rata Refund Within 14 Days
Korean phone-scam victims can ask a bank to freeze the fraud account; two months after the FSS notice the holder's claim is extinguished and refunds are decided within 14 days, shared by loss if the balance is short. A 20 million balance, 40 million total losses and a 10 million loss gives 5 million won.
Insurance Money Seizure Checker (Korea) — Death Benefit 15 Million, Actual-Cost Cover in Full, Refunds 2.5 Million
Under Korean law, protection-type insurance death benefits up to 15 million won, all actual-cost treatment cover, half of other treatment benefits and up to 2.5 million won of surrender and maturity refunds can't be seized. A surrender value from a creditor's cancellation is fully protected.
Wage Garnishment Calculator (Korea) — Half Is Protected, Floor 2.5 Million, Ceiling 3 Million Plus Half the Excess
Korea's Civil Execution Act protects half of wages, with a floor of 2.5 million won a month and, above 3 million, protection of 3 million plus half the excess. On 4 million won a month, 2.5 million stays and up to 1.5 million can be seized.
Dividend Record Dates — Within 3 Months, 2 Weeks' Notice, Paid Within 1 Month, 5-Year Claims (Commercial Act)
Korean dividends go to shareholders on the register on the record date the company sets, within 3 months before the rights are exercised and announced 2 weeks ahead. Payment is due within 1 month of the resolution, and claims last 5 years. Quarterly dividends need a board resolution within 45 days.
High-Dividend Company Checker — 40% Payout, or 25% Plus 10% Dividend Growth, No Fall Below 2024
To qualify for Korea's 2026 dividend separate taxation, a company must be listed (not KONEX), keep dividends at or above 2024, and have a 40%+ payout ratio or 25%+ with 10%+ dividend growth. Zero or negative profit means a deemed 25% ratio.
High-Dividend Company Separate Tax Calculator — 14% to 20m, 20% to 300m, 25% to 5bn, 30% Above (from 2026)
Cash dividends received from 1 January 2026 from Korean high-dividend companies can be taxed apart from other income: 14% up to 20 million won, 20% to 300 million, 25% to 5 billion, 30% above. 50 million won gives 8.8 million won.
Overseas Stock Capital Gains Tax Calculator for Korea — 20% After a 2.5 Million Won Deduction; 1.5 Million Won on a 10 Million Gain
Korea's Income Tax Act taxes gains on shares listed on foreign markets as capital gains, at 20% for non-SME shares, with a 2.5 million won annual deduction. A 10 million won gain means 1.5 million won (local tax extra).
Major Shareholder Capital Gains Tax in Korea — 1% (KOSDAQ 2%) or 5 Billion Won; 20% up to 300 Million, 25% Above (Calculator)
Income Tax Decree Article 157 makes you a major shareholder if, at the previous year-end, you held 1% of a KOSPI company (KOSDAQ 2%, KONEX 4%) or 5 billion won of it. Gains are taxed at 20% up to 300 million won and 25% above, after a 2.5 million won deduction.
Tax on Selling Shares in Korea, 2026 — KOSPI 0.05% + 0.15% Rural Tax, KOSDAQ 0.20%; 20,000 Won on 10 Million (Calculator)
The Securities Transaction Tax Decree sets, for sales from 1 January 2026, 0.05% on KOSPI, 0.20% on KOSDAQ and 0.10% on KONEX; KOSPI also carries 0.15% rural development tax for 0.20% in all. Selling 10 million won costs 20,000 won.
How Fees Eat Returns — SEC Example: 1% a Year Costs About $29,000 Over 20 Years, With a Calculator
Investor.gov says $100,000 growing 4% a year for 20 years ends at about $208,000 with a 0.25% annual fee and about $179,000 with 1.00%. We’ve added a calculator that shows what fees take for any amount, return, fee and period.
Nine Investment Scam Red Flags — SEC: “There’s No Such Thing as High Guaranteed Returns”
Investor.gov lists high returns with little risk, pressure to act now, fear of missing out, unsolicited contact building trust, impersonation, fake testimonials, celebrity endorsements and suspicious payment methods as red flags, and says check the person offering the investment is registered.
Asset Allocation, Diversification and Rebalancing — SEC: Every 6 or 12 Months, or Past a Preset Drift
The SEC describes asset allocation as dividing a portfolio among stocks, bonds and cash, and says it matters because their returns have historically not moved together. Rebalancing returns the mix to the original, every six or twelve months or when a weight drifts past a preset percentage.
Korea's Child Allowance in 2026 — Under 9 at 100,000 Won a Month, the 2017 Cohort Paid Until 2029, and 1,000,000 or 500,000 Won More Under Age 2
The Child Allowance Act as amended on 20 March 2026 extends eligibility to children under 13, phased in from under 9 in 2026 and rising a year at a time. Children born in 2017 are paid every month until 2029 regardless of age, and those cut off at their 8th birthday are paid back to January 2026. Children under 2 receive 1,000,000 or 500,000 won a month more.
No Written Employment Contract in Korea — A Fine of Up to 5 Million Won, Even With 4 or Fewer Workers; 500,000 or 300,000 Won per Item for Part-Time and Fixed-Term Staff
Article 17 of Korea's Labor Standards Act requires the employer to hand the worker a document stating wages, contractual hours, holidays and annual leave, on pain of a fine of up to 5 million won, and it applies to workplaces with 4 or fewer workers. For fixed-term and part-time workers a second Act adds an administrative fine of 500,000 or 300,000 won on a first violation for each item left out.
FDIC Deposit Insurance of $250,000 — Per Depositor, Per Bank, Per Ownership Category; Funds and Crypto Excluded
The FDIC's standard limit is $250,000 per depositor, per bank, for each ownership category. Only deposits such as checking, savings and CDs are covered; stocks, bonds, mutual funds, annuities and crypto assets are not, even if bought at a bank. Deposits in the same category at one bank are added together.
US Credit Freeze and Fraud Alert — a Freeze Is Free and Goes to All Three Bureaus; an Alert Lasts 1 Year (7 Extended) and Needs Only One
According to the FTC, a credit freeze stops new credit accounts being opened in your name; it is free, lasts until lifted and does not affect your score. A freeze must be placed at all three bureaus, while a fraud alert needs contact with only one. An alert lasts 1 year, an extended alert 7 years.
Withdrawing From Card Instalments in Korea — 7 Days in Writing, to the Card Company Too, Refusal Right From 200,000 Won
Korea's Installment Transactions Act lets consumers withdraw from instalment contracts (3+ payments over 2+ months) in writing within 7 days of receiving the contract or goods, and card instalments need written notice to the card company too. The right to refuse remaining instalments for non-delivery or unfixed defects needs a credit card instalment price of 200,000 won or more.
Korea's H2 2026 Stress DSR Operating Direction — the Document That Is Not a Press Release
The title is absent from the FSC newsroom and site:fsc.go.kr does not help. It is administrative guidance on the regulation portal, and the figures sit in an attachment.
Korea's ISA Loss Set-Off — There Is an Order, and Fees Come Off Too
Gains on listed Korean shares are not taxed, yet the losses are allowed into the set-off.
A Korean ISA Is Not Locked for Three Years — Withdrawals Come Out of Principal
Take out anything up to what you paid in and nothing happens - the Decree orders it that way.
Korea's EITC Household Types — Both Spouses Working Is Not the Test
The statute asks for 3m won from each — a spouse who earned 2.5m leaves you a one-earner household.
Korea's EITC: the Statutory Formula and the Amount Paid Are Different Numbers
The table prices each band at its favourable end and rounds up — so it always pays more than the formula.
Spending an HSA on Something Other Than Medical Care — the 20% and Age 65
At 65 the 20% goes away but the income tax does not — it is not free from there on.
The Dependent Care FSA — the 2026 Limit Is $7,500
Same name as the other FSA, 2.2 times the size — and the lower earner's income is the ceiling.
What Unused Annual Leave Is Worth in Korea — Ordinary Wage and the 209 Hours
“Unused leave gets paid out” is half true. The statute's default is that it lapses and payment is the exception — and the number you divide by, 209, appears in no statute at all.
Leaving After Exactly One Year in Korea — When One Day Decides Fifteen
You counted on “a year worked, so fifteen days” and eleven arrived. It is not an error: finish exactly one year and the fifteen days never come into existence.
Korea's 20m Won Financial Income Threshold — Crossing It Can Cost Nothing
Twenty million is not the line where the rate changes but where the method does. The statute runs two calculations and keeps the larger — and with no other income the withholding side wins up to 77.61m won.
Seoul's Policy Loans Cost 2.65% After the Subsidy — and the Subsidy Is Where Banks Differ
A policy loan brochure quotes two rates: what the bank charges and what the city pays. The borrower carries the gap, which nothing publishes.
Korea's 40% DSR Is Not in the Statute — the Three Documents That Set It
The Banking Act carries no figure, the regulation pushes it into a table, and the arithmetic is delegated again to the supervisor.
Fixed or Variable — One Point Is About 60,000 Won a Month per 100 Million
Don't choose on a forecast. You can answer whether you could pay two points higher — and that answer is about 120,000 won a month per 100 million.
Korea's ISA — How Much Tax It Saves, How to Open One, and What Changes in 2027
On a 6 million won gain an ordinary account is taxed 924,000 won; a low-income ISA, 198,000. The savings in figures, whether the principal is protected, how to open one, and the 2027 reform bill.
Splitting Your Accounts — The Law Only Fixes Two Things
Korea's deposit protection cap is ₩100 million, not ₩50 million (amended 29 Jul 2025). And “15.4%” is not a figure in the statute.
Emergency Fund — One Month First, and Where It Is Actually Safe (2026)
No agency source for ‘three to six months’ turned up, and the line a US regulator drew was one month. Meanwhile the same ‘CMA’ sits in both the protected and unprotected column.
Korea's Parental Leave Benefit — 23.1m Won for a Year, How to Claim It, and Your Protections
Past an ordinary wage of 2.5m won the total lands at 23.1m either way. Dismissal is barred by statute, service keeps accruing, and claims open one month in.
6+6 Parental Leave in Korea — ₩6.5 Million More per Parent at Most: a Rising Ceiling, Not a Doubling
The provision never says “months used in common.” The ceiling turns on how many months each parent used, and a parenthesis states outright that the periods need not overlap. It also applies during pregnancy.
Pay Down the Loan or Keep the Deposit — 4.74m Won Over Five Years (2026)
A deposit rate above your loan rate still loses after tax. Breaking even needs 1.182 times the loan rate, and no such pairing exists in today's market.
How to Choose a Korea-Listed ETF — Fees, Price Gaps, Fund Size
By law an ETF must permit redemption — which is why divergence cannot widen indefinitely. It may also hold up to 30% in a single security, which sits awkwardly with “an ETF means diversification.”
US-Listed ETFs vs. Korea-Listed Foreign ETFs — Tax Decides
The ₩2.5m allowance for overseas shares comes from Article 103, not the foreign-asset provisions. One allowance across all “shares etc.”, separate from property — and unused, it simply lapses.
Korean ETF Tax — 0 to 1.65m Won on a 10m Won Gain, by Type (2026)
Not every Korea-listed ETF is exempt. Bond and commodity ETFs are taxed 15.4% as ‘other assets’, and the crossover against foreign-listed funds sits at 8.33m won.
Time Deposit or Installment — and the Trap in “Best Rate” (2026)
We worked out the exact multiple behind “an installment plan pays about half the headline rate”: an n-month plan yields (n+1)÷2n — 13/24, or 54.17%, over twelve months, converging on 50% as the term lengthens.
Deposit Protection at ₩100m — The Principal That Fits Is Not ₩100m
The cap covers principal and interest together, so at 3.5% the ceiling is ₩96.62 million. The higher the rate, the less principal fits.
Korea's Annual Paid Leave — 15 Days, a 25-Day Cap, and the Procedure That Cancels Your Payout
Knowing “one year, 15 days” gets you halfway. The statute sets the counting rule, the expiry condition, and the written procedure that lets a company owe you nothing — in three separate places.
Dismissal in Korea — Three Things “I Gave 30 Days' Notice” Does Not Settle
Just cause, written notice and 30 days' notice live in three different provisions. Only the written notice is tied to legal effect; the notice period can be settled with money.
Workplace Harassment in Korea — What the Law Punishes Hardest Is Not the Harassment
The scheme carries exactly one criminal penalty: disadvantaging someone for reporting. Everything else draws an administrative fine, and the definition requires all three of its pieces.
US HSA vs FSA Explained — Tax-Advantaged Health Accounts (2026)
HSA grows and invests with triple tax-free; FSA is use-it-or-lose-it pre-tax. Plus 2026 limits.
US Credit Scores — Free Reports, 30 vs 45 Days, How Long Marks Stay
One free report a year from each of the three bureaus — and a dispute filed after it gets 45 days, not 30.
US Health Insurance Terms — Four Kinds of Money on Four Different Layers
The deductible marks the start, the out-of-pocket limit the end, and the premium sits outside. Taken verbatim from the Department of Labor's Uniform Glossary.
Youth Future Savings (2026) — What the Official Source Actually Says
Round 2 applications closed on 16 October — results on 12–13 November, account opening 16–27 November. The rate is 5% base plus 2–3 points of preferential rate (up to 7–8%), and there are three income bands, not the two usually cited.
Korea's Exchange Fee — 2,500 Won per $100, Where It Goes, and How to Pay Less (2026)
About 25 won per dollar on US cash. That is 75,000 won on $3,000, or 7,500 with a preferential rate. The rate printed large at the top of the app already had the fee in it.
Sending Money Abroad — The Question Isn't “What's the Fee?”
We set Korea's provisions beside the CFPB's 30 minutes, 180 days and 90 days. Korea's cancellation runs “until the payment takes effect” — an event, not a clock.
Reduced Working Hours for Childcare — Two Benefit Layers, and the 2026 Caps Rose
The first 10 hours a week are covered at 100%, anything beyond at 80%. And two pages on the same site show different numbers.
Refinancing — The First Question Is Not the Rate Gap but How Long You'll Hold It
Halve the rate gap and the payback period doubles. The CFPB handout has no break-even formula, so we ran one.
Korean Prepayment Penalty: The Break-Even Is 24 Days
137,500 won of penalty versus 24 days of interest. Where the line actually crosses.
What Is an ETF? Start With How It Differs From Stocks and Funds
An ETF is a fund on the inside that trades like a stock — and the price of that convenience is a market value that can drift from what it holds.
The Monthly-Dividend Trap — Covered Call and Leveraged ETFs Explained
From a US SEC investor alert: over four months an index gained 8% while a 3x ETF lost 53%. Leverage sells you time; covered calls sell you upside.
What a Credit Score Is Actually Worth — Korean Bank Disclosures (2026)
What a credit score is worth depends on the bank. Some charge the same rate at 950 points and under 600.
Compounding and the Saving/Investing Line — CFPB's Example Ends at Year Two, Worth $2.50
Run the same conditions for thirty years and it becomes $1,821. Tax takes close to half of that.