Mandatory Workplace Training Checker
This does not list all five trainings. Enter your workplace conditions and it separates the duties from the exemptions, citing the statute behind each judgment.
Enter your headcount and select the conditions.
What this tool does
Korea's mandatory workplace trainings are administered by five different agencies, so there is no single official place to see which ones apply to you. Vendors fill that gap, and their materials usually say every workplace must run all five. The statutes say otherwise. A workplace with fewer than five regular employees is excluded from Chapter 3 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act entirely; a workplace with fewer than ten may satisfy sexual harassment prevention training by distributing materials; and if no retirement pension plan is set up, participant education simply does not arise. This tool takes your workplace conditions and separates the duties from the exemptions, citing the article behind each judgment. Where the statute fixes no frequency — as with personal data protection training, which says only 'regularly' — it reports the statutory wording instead of inventing a number.
Who uses this
- Checking which trainings still apply to a workplace under 5 employees
- Confirming whether special training survives because hazardous work exists
- Seeing what changes as headcount passes 50
- Finding the new duty created by introducing a retirement pension plan
- Knowing the real scope of your duties before requesting vendor quotes
How to use (3 steps)
- 1Enter the number of regular employees, excluding the employer.
- 2Select the conditions that apply: office workers only, hazardous work, retirement pension, personal data handlers, and industry.
- 3Press the check button to see, for each training, whether it is required, may be simplified, or does not apply — with the statutory basis and the official portal.
How the judgment works
Safety training: fewer than 5 employees, or office workers only, excludes Chapter 3 under Table 1 of the Enforcement Decree. But the parenthesis in item 6 carves out the additional training under Article 29(3), so special training for hazardous work remains. Sexual harassment prevention: every year with one or more employees. Under 10 employees, or a single-gender workforce, may be met by posting or distributing materials. Disability awareness: once a year, at least one hour, records kept 3 years. Employers without a disability employment quota (under 50) may distribute or post materials. Retirement pension: only for employers with a DB or DC plan, at least once a year. Personal data protection: required where personal data handlers exist, 'regularly'. No frequency is fixed by statute.
Worked examples
Manufacturing site with 4 employees, welding work
Under 5 employees, regular and on-hiring training do not apply. But welding is listed special-training work, and Table 1 item 6 excludes the Article 29(3) additional training from the exemption, so 16 hours of special training (4 hours before first assignment, 12 hours split within 3 months) is still required. Sexual harassment prevention and disability awareness training also apply, both deliverable by materials at this size.
Manufacturing site with 30 employees and a DC plan
Regular safety training runs 6 hours per half-year for office workers, 12 hours per half-year for other workers, and 16 hours per year for supervisors. Sexual harassment prevention must be actual training once a year. Disability awareness may be delivered by materials under 50 employees, with records kept 3 years. The DC plan adds retirement pension participant education at least once a year.
Design office with 12 office workers only
Using office workers only excludes Chapter 3 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. With 10 or more employees, sexual harassment prevention must be actual training once a year rather than distributed materials. Disability awareness may still be delivered by materials, as the workplace is under 50.
Frequently asked questions
Under 5 employees, is every training waived?
No. What is excluded is Chapter 3 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Sexual harassment prevention and disability awareness training apply from the first employee, although small workplaces may deliver both by distributing or posting materials. And if hazardous work exists, special training still applies under 5 employees.
Does emailing the materials count as training?
Only where the statute allows it: fewer than 10 employees or a single-gender workforce for harassment prevention, and employers without a disability employment quota for disability awareness. Elsewhere, merely distributing, posting, or emailing materials is not recognized as training.
How long must records be kept?
Disability awareness training records must be kept 3 years by statute, and electronic documents are acceptable. The other statutes do not fix a retention period, but without records a workplace is treated as not having run the training, so attendance logs are worth keeping.
What are the fines?
This tool does not show fine amounts. They vary by the number and circumstances of violations, and most amount tables circulating online come from training vendors rather than primary sources. Check the penalty provisions of each statute directly if you need figures.
Must training be outsourced?
Safety training may be outsourced to an institution registered with the Ministry of Employment and Labor, or run in-house. Retirement pension education may be outsourced to the pension provider or a qualified institution. In-house disability awareness training must be delivered by someone meeting the instructor qualification, and free instructors can be requested through the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities portal.
Cautions
- •Safety training hours follow the version effective 1 January 2024. Secondary sources mention an amendment effective 1 January 2026 that could not be verified against the official text.
- •Headcount is assessed per workplace. A head office and a plant may reach different results.
- •This is general guidance based on the statutes. Confirm the final position for your workplace with the competent labor office or agency.
Last reviewed: 2026-09-08