A Korean employer that keeps staff on after they reach retirement age, instead of letting them go, can get a government subsidy. The basis is Article 28-4 of the Employment Insurance Act Enforcement Decree (continued employment subsidy for older workers); the amounts and conditions sit in the Ministry of Employment and Labor notice on older worker employment stability subsidies (No. 2026-36). Article 5 of the notice pays 300,000 won a month per eligible worker, or 400,000 won outside Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi, and Article 7 pays for up to 3 years per worker. Each quarter has a headcount cap, so the calculator below turns headcount and region into the quarterly amount.
1. 300,000 won a month per worker; 400,000 won outside Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi (Notice Art. 5(1)–(2)).
2. Quarterly headcount cap — 30% of the average month-end insured headcount (rounded down), at most 30; 3 if the average is under 10.
3. Up to 3 years per worker from the first day of continued employment (Notice Art. 7).
Calculator
Updates as you type. Amount = workers counted × monthly rate × 3. The quarterly cap is 30% of the average month-end insured headcount (rounded down), at most 30; if the average is under 10, the cap is 3. Assumes nobody joins or leaves mid-month (those are pro-rated by day).
Which employers qualify — Notice Arts. 3–4
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible (Art. 3(1)) | Employers insured for employment insurance that are priority-support (SME) firms, mid-sized firms or social enterprises | Large firms aren’t listed |
| Excluded (Art. 3(2)) | Government bodies, public institutions and local public enterprises; sectors listed in the SME workforce decree; employers named for wage arrears or designated habitual non-payers; those behind on insurance premiums; those within 1 year of being named for a serious industrial accident | The habitual non-payer rule was added 1 June 2026 |
| Condition 1 (Art. 4(1)) | A retirement age has been in place for at least 1 year before the scheme starts | No retirement age, no subsidy |
| Condition 2 (Art. 4(2)) | By written labour–management agreement: (a) raise the retirement age by 1 year or more, (b) abolish it, or (c) re-hire volunteers chosen on reasonable criteria within 6 months of retirement on contracts of 1 year or more | One of the three |
| Condition 3 (Art. 4(3)) | In the year before the scheme starts, workers aged 60+ are 30/100 or less of the month-end insured total | Firms already full of older staff are out |
| Condition 4 (Art. 4(4)) | The scheme was introduced on or after 1 January 2019 |
Which workers count — Notice Art. 6
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Counted (1) | Insured workers who reach the old retirement age within 5 years of the scheme starting and are kept on under it | Retirement later than that doesn’t count |
| Not counted (2)1–2 | The owner’s (or CEO’s) spouse and lineal relatives; foreign nationals other than F-2, F-5 and F-6 visa holders | |
| Not counted (2)3 | Workers whose reported average monthly pay is under 1.24 million won | For workers first kept on from 1 January 2026 (supplementary provision of Notice No. 2025-115) |
| Not counted (2)5 | Those insured at the workplace for less than 2 continuous years by retirement age | Late joiners are out |
How much and for how long — Arts. 5 and 7
Article 5(1) sets the amount at the number of eligible workers times 300,000 won a month, pro-rated by day for anyone who joins or leaves mid-month. Article 5(2) uses 400,000 won for employers outside Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi; under the supplementary provision of Notice No. 2025-115 this applies from subsidies for the first quarter of 2026. The quarterly headcount cap in Article 5(3) is 30/100 of the average month-end insured headcount (rounded down) and no more than 30; if the average is under 10, the cap is 3. Small workplaces end up with a looser cap than 30% would give (our note).
Article 7 pays for up to 3 years per worker from the first day of continued employment, counting from 1 January 2020 if that day was earlier. A full 3 years for one worker comes to 10.8 million won in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi and 14.4 million won elsewhere (300,000 or 400,000 won × 36 months, our sum).
Three sums — our example
| Workplace (our example) | Quarterly subsidy | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Seoul, average 25 insured, 10 eligible | Cap 7 → 7 × 300,000 × 3 = 6.3 million won | 25 × 30% = 7.5 → 7 |
| Busan, average 8, 4 eligible | Cap 3 → 3 × 400,000 × 3 = 3.6 million won | Under 10 on average, so the cap is 3 |
| Gyeonggi, average 120, 40 eligible | Cap 30 → 30 × 300,000 × 3 = 27 million won | 120 × 30% = 36, but at most 30 |
All three assume the same people work the whole quarter with nobody joining or leaving mid-month (our example). The first workplace, with the same headcount for 12 quarters, would get 75.6 million won (our sum).
Applying — Arts. 12–13
Under Article 12(1) the employer files Form 1 with the local labour office within 1 year from the day after the quarter ends. Where other subsidies overlap, Article 13 applies Decree Article 40 on mutual adjustment and the anti-duplication rule in the job creation and employment stability subsidy regulation. Retirement age itself is covered in retirement age 60 law.
Checklist
- ☐ The firm is an SME, mid-sized firm or social enterprise
- ☐ A retirement age ran for 1+ year before the extension, abolition or re-hiring rule was written down
- ☐ Workers aged 60+ were 30% or less last year
- ☐ Each worker had 2+ continuous years before retirement age and earns at least 1.24 million won a month
- ☐ Apply within 1 year of the day after the quarter ends
Questions that remain
Is a 6-month extension enough?
Article 4(2)(a) says the retirement age must rise by 1 year or more, so a 6-month extension doesn’t read as fitting (our reading).
What about 6-month re-hire contracts?
Item (c) requires a contract of 1 year or more, signed within 6 months of retirement.
Is there a subsidy for adding workers aged 60+?
The same notice has one, but first-time applicants had to meet its conditions by 31 December 2025. See senior employment subsidy checker.
Sources
- Korean law database (law.go.kr), administrative rules — Notice on older worker employment stability subsidies — source (current text, effective 1 June 2026, Ministry of Employment and Labor Notice No. 2026-36; checked 28 October 2026). Art. 2 definitions, Art. 3 eligible and excluded employers, Art. 4 conditions, Art. 5 300,000/400,000 won and the cap, Art. 6 eligible workers, Art. 7 3 years, Art. 12 applying, Art. 13 adjustment, application rules in Notices No. 2025-115 and 2026-36.
- Korean law database — Employment Insurance Act Enforcement Decree Art. 28-4 — source (current text, effective 18 September 2026, Presidential Decree No. 36588; checked 28 October 2026). Legal basis; details left to the ministry notice.
- Not read. The forms, the text of Decree Art. 40 and of the anti-duplication rule, Employment Insurance Act Art. 23.
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Where to check further
- The local labour office — filing and eligibility.
- Work24 (고용24) — online employer subsidy applications (we didn’t check the screens).
Written on 28 October 2026. The content is from the source; the glosses are ours.
