Korea’s unemployment benefit (job-seeking benefit) is not paid just because you left a job. Article 44(1) of the Employment Insurance Act pays it only for days on which unemployment has been certified, and Article 44(2) requires you to attend on a day the employment centre head sets within one to four weeks, counting from the day you reported unemployment — the certification date — and report your efforts to find work. Enter the claim date, the cycle and your benefit days, and the calculator shows how many certification dates come round, when, and how many days each one covers. The real dates are the ones the centre sets and tells you; the calculator is our arithmetic on the assumption that the same cycle keeps repeating.
1. Certification date = a day the centre sets within 1 to 4 weeks of the claim (Art. 44(2)). On it, each day from the day after the previous certification date up to that date is certified.
2. The first 7 days are a waiting period — no benefit is paid for 7 days counted from the claim date (Art. 49(1)). If your last job was construction day work, payment counts from the claim date.
3. Our example — a claim on 10 November 2026, a 4-week cycle and 120 benefit days give 5 certification dates, with the last paid day on 16 March 2027.
Calculator
Updates as you type. Dates as YYYY-MM-DD. Our arithmetic puts each date on the same weekday as “claim date + cycle × turn” — follow the dates written on your benefit card. It assumes every day is certified and does not cut anything off at the 12-month benefit period (Art. 48). Sunday/holiday flags cover Korean public holidays from December 2026 to December 2027 only.
The articles — text
| Provision | What the text says | Note (our gloss) |
|---|---|---|
| Act Art. 44(1) | The job-seeking benefit is paid for days, among the days a claimant is unemployed, on which unemployment has been certified by the employment centre head. | Uncertified days are not paid even inside the benefit period |
| Act Art. 44(2) | Counting from the day unemployment was reported under Art. 42, the claimant must attend on a day the centre head sets within one to four weeks (the certification date) and report efforts to find work; the head certifies each day from the day after the previous certification date to that date. | The centre sets the cycle — the 1–4 week choice mirrors that range |
| Act Art. 49(1) | For 7 days counted from the claim date, as a waiting period, no benefit is paid. A person whose last job was construction day work is paid counting from the claim date. | The claim date is day one — a 10 November claim waits to 16 November |
| Act Art. 50(1) | Benefit days run from the day after the waiting period ends until the number in Table 1 for the insured period and age. | The first “paid” day in the calculator |
Article 49(2) lengthens the waiting period, within 4 weeks, to a period set by presidential decree when the reason for leaving falls under the proviso to Article 43-2(2). Decree Article 71-2 sets that period at 2 weeks (checked 9 November 2026). The proviso to Article 43-2(2) covers someone who lost two or more coverages and applies on a coverage other than the one lost last, where the centre head accepts that the last one was left because of a drop in income. The calculator’s “Waiting period” box lets you pick 7 days, none (construction) or 2 weeks. Decree Article 63(1) sets out how to attend: on the certification date you go to the centre, write on the certification form your job-search activity from the day after the previous certification date to that date, and attach your benefit card. Once certified, the head notes it on the card and hands it back (para. 2).
How the calculator counts — our gloss
| Line | Arithmetic | Note (our gloss) |
|---|---|---|
| Waiting period | 7 days from the claim date (to claim date + 6) | “Counting from the claim date” read as including it |
| Paid days | From the day after the waiting period, for the benefit days | Art. 50(1) |
| Nth certification date | Claim date + cycle × 7 days × N | Same weekday — our assumption; real dates are set |
| Period certified | Day after the previous date to that date (the first starts on the claim date) | Starting the first one on the claim date is our reading |
| Paid days in that turn | Overlap between that period and the paid days | They must add up to the benefit days — checked across the grid |
Four runs — our examples
| Example (ours) | Result | Note (our gloss) |
|---|---|---|
| Claim 2026-11-10, 4 weeks, 120 days | 5 visits — 12-08 (22 days) · 01-05 (28) · 02-02 (28) · 03-02 (28) · 03-30 (14) | 22 + 28 × 3 + 14 = 120. The first turn loses the 7 waiting days, so 22 |
| Same claim, 2 weeks, 120 days | 9 visits — first 11-24 (8 days), last 2027-03-16 (14 days) | A shorter cycle means more visits, not more paid days |
| Same claim, 4 weeks, 120 days, construction | 5 visits, 29 days in the first, last paid day 2027-03-09 | No waiting period, so everything moves a week earlier |
| Same claim, 4 weeks, 270 days | 10 visits, last paid day 2027-08-13 | Check separately that this fits inside the 12-month benefit period |
If a certification date falls on a public holiday, Decree Article 65 item 5(b) lets the centre head move it, so the calculator flags Sundays and holidays with “the centre may move it”.
Keeping your certification dates
- What counts as a job-search effort — the ten items in Rule 87 are in the job search activity checker.
- If you can’t go that day — deadlines to change the date (day before, 14 days, 2 months) are in the certification date change deadline calculator.
- Whether you can use it all within 12 months — the benefit period calculator.
Checklist
- ☐ Copy the certification dates on your benefit card into a calendar
- ☐ Know that the 7 waiting days are unpaid
- ☐ Prepare your job-search record from the day after each previous date
- ☐ If a date lands on a Sunday or holiday, check the new date you are told
- ☐ Check the last paid day is inside the 12-month benefit period
Questions that remain
Do I choose the cycle?
No. Article 44(2) says “a day the head of the employment security office sets within one to four weeks”. The cycle box is for entering the cycle you were given.
Do the 7 waiting days need certifying too?
Article 49(1) says those 7 days are treated as a waiting period and no benefit is paid for them. The calculator starts the first certified period on the claim date but leaves the 7 days out of the paid count (our reading).
Are dates different during training?
Yes. Enforcement Rule Article 85(1) says that for claimants on vocational training of 28 days or more, the centre with jurisdiction over the training body certifies, on a day it sets once a month, each day of the previous month. The calculator does not cover this case.
Sources
- Korea Law Information Center — Employment Insurance Act Arts. 44, 49, 50 — text (current version, in force 18 Sep 2026, Act No. 21473; checked 9 November 2026). Certification (1)–(4), the 7-day waiting period and construction proviso, the 4-week range in Art. 49(2), when benefit days start.
- Korea Law Information Center — Enforcement Decree Arts. 63, 65 — text (in force 18 Sep 2026, Presidential Decree No. 36588; checked 9 November 2026). Attendance, the form and card, moving a date that falls on a holiday (Art. 65 item 5(b)).
- Korea Law Information Center — Enforcement Rule Arts. 84, 85 — text (in force 18 Sep 2026, Ministry of Employment and Labor Ordinance No. 479; checked 9 November 2026). Documents attached to the form; once-a-month certification for trainees.
- Korea Law Information Center — Employment Insurance Decree Art. 71-2 — text (in force 18 Sep 2026, Decree No. 36588; checked 9 November 2026). The Art. 49(2) period is 2 weeks.
- Not read. Internal guidance on setting the first certification date, the Work24 screens for certification.
- Our additions. The same-weekday date arithmetic, starting the first period on the claim date, and the “Note” column.
Where to check further
- Your local employment centre — the certification dates and cycle on your benefit card.
- Work24 — whether you can be certified online, and your certification history.
Written on 9 November 2026. The content follows the original texts; the glosses and arithmetic are ours.
