While you receive Korean unemployment benefit (job-seeking benefit), refusing a job the job centre refers you to or training it orders without good reason stops the payments. Article 60 of the Employment Insurance Act says benefit is suspended in that case and leaves the length, “within 1 month”, to a Ministry notice. The notice sets 2 weeks from the day of refusal for a job referral or guidance, and 4 weeks for vocational training. There is no suspension with a just reason — the job does not fit your abilities, you would have to move and cannot, or the pay is at least 20% below the usual local pay for that work, among others. Enter what you refused, the date and your daily benefit to see the suspension period and the money it covers.
1. Refusing a referral or guidance → suspended for 2 weeks from the day of refusal (Notice).
2. Refusing vocational training → 4 weeks, and no unemployment recognition for those days (Decree Art. 79(3)).
3. No suspension with a just reason — poor fit with abilities, a move you cannot make, pay 20% or more below the norm, and so on (Art. 60(1)).
Calculator
Updates as you type. Suspension runs 2 weeks (referral or guidance) or 4 weeks (training) from the day of refusal; we count the refusal day as day 1 (our reading). Whether a reason is just is decided by the job centre head under the Minister’s standards, which we did not read. The money row is daily benefit × days, not an official figure.
The article — Employment Insurance Act Art. 60
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| (1) main text | If a claimant refuses a job referred by the job centre head or refuses training ordered, benefit is suspended as set by Decree | — |
| (1) proviso 1 | The job or training is not suited to the claimant’s abilities | No suspension |
| (1) proviso 2 | Taking it requires moving house, which is difficult | No suspension |
| (1) proviso 3 | Pay for the referred job is at least 20/100 below the usual pay for the same kind of work in the same area, among standards set by the Minister | The other standards were not read |
| (1) proviso 4 | Any other just reason | — |
| (2) | Refusing re-employment guidance without just reason also leads to suspension | Items 1–3 of (1) are not written into (2) (our reading) |
| (3) | Whether a reason is just is decided by the job centre head under the Minister’s standards | — |
| (4) | The period is set by Ministry notice within 1 month | The notice below |
Procedure — Enforcement Decree Art. 79
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| (1) advance notice | Claimants who refuse referrals, training or guidance are told in advance that benefit may be suspended | Form set by ministerial rule (not read) |
| (2) suspension | If they refuse twice or more despite the notice, benefit must be suspended | We read a first refusal as the notice stage |
| (3) notice and recognition | The reason and period must be given by the day before the next recognition date, and no unemployment is recognised for the suspended days | — |
The period — Ministry notice
The Notice on Suspension Periods for Refusing Vocational Training and Similar says that a claimant who without just reason refuses a job referral or guidance under Art. 60(1)–(2) has benefit suspended for 2 weeks from the day of refusal, and one who refuses vocational training, for 4 weeks. But if, after being notified, the claimant states they will follow the job centre’s instructions and actively complies, the suspension may be lifted for benefit from the day they complied. Two weeks is 14 days and four weeks 28 (our sums), within the Act’s 1-month limit.
We read “from the day of refusal” as counting that day as day 1, following the rule that periods restricting rights include the first day (Framework Act on Administration Art. 6(2); see the legal period calculator). So a refusal on 2 November means a 2-week suspension to 15 November.
Three cases — our examples
| Situation (our example) | Result | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Daily benefit 70,000 won; second refusal of a referral after notice (2026-11-02) | 14 days, 2026-11-02 to 2026-11-15; benefit for those days 980,000 won | 70,000 × 14 |
| The same person refuses ordered training | 28 days, 2026-11-02 to 2026-11-29; 1,960,000 won | 70,000 × 28 |
| Usual pay 2.5 million a month; the referred job pays 2 million | Exactly 20% lower — proviso 3 met, no suspension | At 2.01 million it is 19.6%, short of the figure |
Whether suspended days come off your benefit days or are pushed back is not stated in Art. 60 or the notice, so we do not say. What is clear is that suspended days are not recognised as unemployment (Decree Art. 79(3)), while the 12-month claim window from the day after leaving keeps running. That window is in the unemployment benefit period calculator.
Checklist
- ☐ Compared the offered pay with usual local pay for that work — the 20% line
- ☐ Told the job centre about any poor fit with your abilities or a move you cannot make
- ☐ Whether you received the “may be suspended” notice — refusals after it lead to suspension
- ☐ If suspended, said you will comply and did — the rest can be lifted from that day
- ☐ The notice arrived by the day before your next recognition date
Questions that remain
Do I have to pay back what I received?
Article 60 stops future payments. Repaying money obtained by deception is the fraud rule, covered in the unemployment benefit fraud repayment calculator.
What about the allowance while in training?
The vocational training allowance for ordered training is in the re-employment allowances calculator.
Who decides what is a just reason?
Under Art. 60(3), the job centre head, by the Minister’s standards. We did not read that standards document this time.
Sources
- Korean law database (law.go.kr) — Employment Insurance Act Art. 60 — source (current text, effective 18 September 2026, Act No. 21473; checked 29 October 2026). Grounds for suspension (refusing referral, training or guidance), just reasons 1–4 (the 20/100 pay test), who decides, the 1-month notice.
- Korean law database — Employment Insurance Act Enforcement Decree Art. 79 — source (effective 18 September 2026, Decree No. 36588; checked 29 October 2026). Advance notice, suspension after two or more refusals, notice by the day before the next recognition date, no recognition for suspended days.
- Korean law database — Notice on suspension periods for refusing vocational training and similar — source (effective 1 January 2026, Ministry of Employment and Labor Notice No. 2025-111). 2 weeks for referral or guidance, 4 weeks for training, lifting from the day of compliance, review every 3 years.
- Not read. The Minister’s standards in Art. 60(1)3 and (3); the notice form under Decree Art. 79(1); case law; how suspended days relate to benefit days.
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Where to check further
- Your job centre — just reasons, suspension notices and lifting.
- Work24 (고용24) — your recognition dates and payments.
Written on 29 October 2026. The content is from the source; the glosses are ours.
