"Resign and you get nothing" is only half right in Korea. The Employment Insurance Act does not list the reasons that qualify - it lists the reasons that disqualify, and one of them is leaving "for a reason that is NOT a just cause prescribed by Ministry Rule" (art. 58(2)(c)). That list of just causes is Table 2 of the Enforcement Rule, and it has 13 items. We opened it.
1. There is a list. Rule art. 101(2) makes Table 2 the "just cause" of Act art. 58(2)(c) - unpaid wages, discrimination, sexual harassment, workplace harassment, being asked to resign, an impossible commute, nursing, childcare, retirement age and end of term, among 13 items.
2. Four figures are fixed. Item 1 needs two months or more within the year before leaving; item 6, a round trip of three hours or more; item 7, 30 days or more of nursing; item 10, a child of 8 or under (or in the second year of primary school or below).
3. A person decides. The main text of art. 58 says "where the head of the employment security office finds" - this checker reads only the figures in the rule.
It reads art. 58 of the Employment Insurance Act and Table 2 of its Rule as written. Art. 58 does not list the reasons that qualify; it lists those where eligibility "shall be deemed not to exist" - item 1, dismissal for serious fault (a sentence of imprisonment, grave damage to the business on the test set by Ministry Rule, prolonged unexcused absence), and item 2, leaving for one's own reasons (to change jobs or start a business, resigning at the employer's suggestion where fault existed, and any other reason that is not a just cause prescribed by Ministry Rule). Rule art. 101 sends the test in item 1(b) to Table 1-2 (eight items) and the "just cause" in item 2(c) to Table 2 (thirteen items). Table 2 fixes four figures: two months or more within the year before leaving for item 1, a round trip of three hours or more by the usual transport for item 6, 30 days or more of nursing for item 7, and a child aged 8 or under, or in the second year of primary school or below for item 10. The rest turn on facts. Items 7, 9 and 10 also require that leave or a career break was refused; item 9 requires a doctor's note and the employer's account; item 13 requires objective recognition that an ordinary worker would also have left. The finding is made by the head of the employment security office (art. 58, main text) - this checker reads only the figures in the rule. Artists (Table 2-2) and contract workers (Table 2-3) have their own lists and are not covered. An estimate - confirm with your employment centre (1350).
The Act writes down what disqualifies
Read art. 58 as written and the direction is reversed: "NOTWITHSTANDING art. 40 ... where the head of the employment security office finds that any of the following applies, eligibility shall be deemed NOT to exist."
Two limbs. Item 1 is dismissal for serious fault; item 2 is leaving for one's own reasons. And the last sub-item of each limb is handed to Ministry Rule.
Rule art. 101 catches both: paragraph 1 sends the test in art. 58(1)(b) to Table 1-2 (8 items), and paragraph 2 sends the "just cause" in art. 58(2)(c) to Table 2 (13 items).
So "resigning is automatically fatal" is wrong. Art. 58(2)(c) excludes only reasons that are NOT a just cause, so landing on Table 2 means you are not excluded. Knowing the list is the whole difference.
Table 2 - thirteen items
| Item | Just cause for leaving |
|---|---|
| 1 | terms cut below what was offered, unpaid wages, below the minimum wage, overtime limit breached, under 70% of average pay while shut - two months or more within a year |
| 2 | unreasonable discrimination by religion, sex, disability or union activity |
| 3 | sexual harassment or violence against your will, or other sexual harassment |
| 3-2 | workplace harassment under Labour Standards Act art. 76-2 |
| 4 | insolvency or closure is certain, or mass redundancy is planned |
| 5 | transfer, merger, closure of part of the business, restructuring, new technology, worsening finances or blocked promotion - and you are asked to resign or take voluntary redundancy |
| 6 | a move, transfer or change of residence makes the commute three hours or more round trip |
| 7 | nursing a parent or a relative you live with for 30 days or more with leave refused |
| 8 | a serious accident site where a correction order was ignored, leaving you exposed |
| 9 | failing strength, disability, illness, injury, failing sight, hearing or touch - objectively recognised on a doctor's note and the employer's account |
| 10 | pregnancy, birth, care of a child 8 or under or in primary year 2 or below, or military service - with leave refused |
| 11 | the business itself became unlawful through a change in the law |
| 12 | reaching retirement age or the end of a fixed term |
| 13 | otherwise objectively recognised that an ordinary worker would also have left |
This is Table 2 of the Rule as amended on 1 July 2024 - the items themselves, not a paraphrase of a summary.
Item 1 is where most people land
Leaving over unpaid wages or pay below the minimum falls here. But the provision puts a period in front of it.
"Where any of the following grounds arose for two months or more within the year before the date of leaving."
Any one of the five will do - but it has to have run for two months or more. One month of arrears does not reach this item; another item has to be found.
And the window matters: "within the year before the date of leaving." Something long past does not come in under this item.
Only four places carry a figure
Of the thirteen, four are cut by a number. The other nine turn on facts.
- Item 1, two months - within the year before leaving.
- Item 6, three hours round trip - "where the time taken to travel to and from the workplace by the USUAL means of transport available for commuting is three hours or more." Round trip, not one way, and measured by the usual transport rather than how you actually travelled.
- Item 7, 30 days - the period for which you personally must nurse a parent or a relative you live with.
- Item 10, 8 or under - with "or in the second year of primary school or below" attached, so age alone does not settle it. Adopted children are included.
Items where proof is the real gate
For several, the ground matters less than showing it.
- Items 7 and 10 - you must have left because "leave or a career break was not permitted given the circumstances of the business" or "the employer did not permit leave or a career break." That presumes you asked first.
- Item 9 - leaving because the work became impossible and no transfer or break was allowed must be "objectively recognised on the basis of a doctor's opinion, the employer's account and the like."
- Item 13 - "where it is objectively recognised that an ordinary worker in the same circumstances would also have left." A catch-all, and the last place to look when nothing else fits.
Two that are less well known
Being asked to resign is on the list
Item 5 makes it a just cause where you "are advised by the employer to resign, or leave through a call for voluntary redundancy under a workforce adjustment plan where headcount cuts are unavoidable." But the (a) to (e) grounds come first: transfer, acquisition or merger; closure of part of the business or a change of sector; abolition or reduction of a unit on restructuring; a change in working patterns from new technology; and worsening finances, blocked promotion or anything comparable.
Retirement and the end of a term are a line in the list
These are usually described as obviously involuntary, but in the provisions they are item 12: "where reaching retirement age or the expiry of the contract term makes it impossible to stay." Knowing it is a listed item makes it clearer how the separation certificate should read.
The other list - Table 1-2
The "grave damage to the business or property loss" in art. 58(1)(b) is also handed to Ministry Rule. That is Table 1-2, with 8 items: taking money or entertainment from a supplier and accepting defective goods; passing secrets or information to a competitor; fabricating or spreading falsehoods or leading unlawful collective action; embezzling or misusing company funds through one's position; stealing or removing products or materials; falsifying attendance or performance records, or making false documents, in a personnel, accounting or finance role; deliberately destroying company property; and letting someone else drive a company vehicle without the employer's consent, causing an accident.
This is a list too. "Serious fault" is not open-ended - it is tested against these eight.
Questions this leaves
The separation certificate says "voluntary" - is that the end of it?
No. The main text of art. 58 says "where the head of the employment security office FINDS". The finding rests on what actually happened, not on the wording of a form. But if the employer's stated reason differs from yours, you have to make the case with evidence.
My wages were late by one month
Item 1 needs two months or more, so that alone does not reach it. If another sub-item ran alongside it - below the minimum wage, an overtime breach - there is room to argue, and failing that item 13 remains. Talk to your employment centre.
How is the commute measured?
The provision says only "the time taken to travel to and from the workplace by the usual means of transport available for commuting." Even if your own car is faster, the usual transport is the measure - and it is the round trip.
Do artists and contract workers use the same list?
No. Rule art. 101 sends artists to Table 2-2 (para. 3) and contract workers to Table 2-3 (para. 4). This article covers employees (Table 2) only.
Does landing on the list mean I get paid?
It clears the reason-for-leaving bar only. The rest of art. 40 still applies - 180 insured days within an 18-month base period and active job search among them; those are set out in the jobseeker benefit calculator.
Sources
- Employment Insurance Act - the statute itself - the source for art. 58 (the "deemed not to exist" structure, item 1(a)-(c) and item 2(a)-(c)) and art. 40 (qualifying conditions). Korean Law Information Center
- Enforcement Rule of the Act - the text itself - the source for art. 101 (para. 1 to Table 1-2, para. 2 to Table 2, para. 3 to Table 2-2, para. 4 to Table 2-3), the full 13 items of Table 2 "Just causes for leaving that do not restrict a worker's eligibility" (as amended 1 July 2024), and the full 8 items of Table 1-2. Korean Law Information Center
- Our own work - picking out the four places the rule fixes a figure (two months, three hours round trip, 30 days, 8 or under) and counting the remaining nine as fact-based is our reading. The checker was tested against the same reading across 3,840 combinations in both languages.
What to check elsewhere
- Which item your reason falls under. Table 2 is a list, but whether you are on it is found by the head of the employment security office - take your case to your employment centre or the Ministry helpline (1350).
- What evidence is needed. Arrears confirmed, addresses before and after a move, a diagnosis and proof of relationship for nursing, a child's age or school year, a doctor's note for item 9 - the employment centre sets out which documents and how.
- Artists and contract workers. Tables 2-2 and 2-3 were not opened here.
- Separation codes. In practice this list is carried across as codes on the separation certificate; the codes themselves sit outside the provisions.
Based on the 2026 provisions. The list and the figures are the rule's own; the split into "four with a figure, nine on the facts" is our reading. The checker is an estimate - confirm with your employment centre (1350). For amounts and days see the jobseeker benefit calculator, for the filing steps the guide to applying, and for taking a job with days unused the early reemployment allowance calculator.
