Policy changes
Only the changes that reach daily life: minimum wage, insurance rates, labour law, visa rules. Each entry carries its effective date and official source.
Spouse's childbirth leave usable from 50 days before the due date, plus a new miscarriage leave, from 18 September 2026
From 18 September 2026 three changes widen the support available to a worker whose spouse is giving birth. Spousal childbirth leave, previously usable only after the birth, can be taken from 50 days before the due date; a new leave is created for a spouse's miscarriage or stillbirth; and a worker may start parental leave before the child is born where the pregnant spouse faces a health risk such as miscarriage or premature birth. The same date narrows the grounds on which an employer can refuse reduced working hours for childcare.
Korean residence certificates will simply say 'household member' or 'cohabitant' — effective October 2026
Under amendments to the Enforcement Decree and Rules of the Resident Registration Act, previewed by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in November 2025, the relationship-to-householder field on residence certificates will be simplified: family other than the spouse becomes 'household member', and everyone else becomes 'cohabitant'. The aim is to stop documents from revealing more about a family than necessary, particularly in remarried households. The ministry has announced October 2026, and the national law database records the amended provisions as taking effect on 29 October 2026.
Korea's exit tax will cover foreign shares from 2027 — applying to departures on or after 1 January 2027
Residents who meet certain conditions and leave Korea are treated as having sold their shares on the day of departure and are taxed on the gain. Only domestic shares count today, but Act No. 21221, promulgated on 23 December 2025, adds foreign shares to the tax base. The provision takes effect on 1 January 2027 and applies to residents departing on or after that date.
Monthly payroll reporting to the tax office — the monthly simplified payment statement slips again, to January 2027
Employers currently file the simplified payment statement for regular employment income with the National Tax Service twice a year. From income paid in January 2027 they must file it every month. The switch was first set for January 2024, pushed to January 2026, and has now been pushed again to January 2027. To soften the landing, no failure-to-file penalty applies in the first year as long as the old deadline is met.
Korea's 2027 minimum wage set at 10,700 won per hour, effective 1 January 2027
On 5 August 2026 the Ministry of Employment and Labor formally announced the 2027 minimum wage: 10,700 won per hour, up 380 won (3.7%) from 2026's 10,320 won. The published monthly equivalent is 2,236,300 won based on a 40-hour week. It applies to every workplace from 1 January 2027, with no industry exceptions.
New right to take annual leave in hourly units from 10 June 2027; break-time choice for four-hour shifts from 10 December 2026
The amended Labor Standards Act (Act No. 21784), passed by the National Assembly on 7 May 2026 and promulgated on 9 June 2026, creates a new right for workers to request annual paid leave split into hourly units. Employers who refuse face up to two years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 20 million won. The leave provisions take effect on 10 June 2027; the break-time change for four-hour shifts starts on 10 December 2026.
Korea plans to pay jobseeker's allowance for six days a week instead of seven — same total, smaller monthly payments
On 1 September 2026 the Ministry of Employment and Labor reviewed its Employment Insurance Reform Plan at the Employment Insurance Committee. Jobseeker's allowance would be calculated on six days per week, excluding the unpaid rest day; the upper limit would be pegged at 103% of the lower limit; and the income threshold that disqualifies you from the early re-employment allowance would drop from 5.74 million to 3 million won per month. The total amount and the total number of payment days (120-270) stay the same, so the same money is spread over a longer calendar period. Legislation is still pending, so no effective date has been set.
Korea proposes merging three child benefits into a birth grant and a monthly child benefit from July 2027
On 28 August 2026 the Ministry of Health and Welfare unveiled a restructuring of parenting benefits as part of the 2027 budget proposal. The current first-meeting voucher, parental benefit and child allowance would be replaced by a lump-sum welcome grant paid over the first year and a monthly child benefit running to age 12. The target is children born on or after 1 July 2027, but the Child Allowance Act still has to be amended and the budget passed, so nothing is settled.
Late rental-contract filings now carry a fine in Korea — up to 300,000 won for contracts signed on or after 1 June 2025
The four-year grace period for Korea's housing lease reporting system (jeonse/wolse filing), in force since June 2021, ended on 31 May 2025. Contracts signed on or after 1 June 2025 that are not filed within 30 days now attract a real fine. At the same time the ceiling for late or missing filings was cut from 1,000,000 won to 300,000 won.
Korea scraps 'deemed family support' after 26 years — Medical Aid became easier to qualify for in January 2026
The rule that added an assumed amount of family support to an applicant's income, whether or not any money actually changed hands, was abolished on 1 January 2026. It had been in place since the National Basic Living Security Act was enacted in 2000, 26 years earlier. Low-income households previously pushed out of Medical Aid by a relative's income can now qualify.
Korea's Basic Pension in 2026 — 349,700 won a month, with the eligibility ceiling for single-person households raised to 2.47 million won
The 2026 Basic Pension benchmark amount rose from 342,510 won to 349,700 won a month for a single-person household, reflecting the previous year's 2.1% consumer price inflation. Roughly 7.79 million people have received the higher amount since the January payment. The income ceiling that decides eligibility also rose 8.3%, from 2.28 million to 2.47 million won for single-person households, so people who were turned down last year may qualify this year.
K-Pass adds a flat-rate 'Modu Card' — from January 2026 the system picks whichever refund is larger
Under a reform announced on 15 December 2025 by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Metropolitan Transport Commission, K-Pass gained a flat-rate refund option called the Modu Card in January 2026. Each month the system automatically applies whichever of the two methods — percentage refund or flat-rate refund — returns more. A senior category for ages 65 and over was added at a 30% refund rate, and from 1 April to 30 September 2026 the flat-rate thresholds are temporarily halved.
2026 Employment Permit System (E-9) quota cut to 80,000 — the separate shipbuilding quota ends while non-capital-area hiring limits expand
On 22 December 2025 the Foreign Workforce Policy Committee set the 2026 E-9 non-professional employment quota at 80,000. The separate shipbuilding quota that had run since April 2023 ends and is folded back into manufacturing, while manufacturers outside the capital region gained a higher hiring ceiling.
National Pension contribution rate goes from 9% to 9.5% and the replacement rate to 43% — the first rate change since 1998 took effect in January 2026
The National Pension Act amended in 2025 took effect on 1 January 2026, lifting the contribution rate from the 9% that had been frozen since 1998 to 9.5%. It rises another 0.5 percentage points each year until it reaches 13% in 2033. In exchange the income replacement rate rose from 41.5% to 43%, and childbirth and military service credits plus support for low-income regional contributors were all expanded.
2026 health insurance rate rises to 7.19%, long-term care insurance to 0.9448%
The 2026 national health insurance contribution rate rose from 7.09% to 7.19%, an increase of 0.1 percentage points. The long-term care insurance rate attached to it also rose, from 0.9182% to 0.9448% of income. Everyone enrolled in Korean health insurance pays a little more each month, regardless of nationality.
From 2 January 2026, foreign residents report employment details online via HiKorea — paper filing ends in the second half of the year
Foreign nationals who earn money in Korea must report their occupation and income to immigration. Since 2 January 2026 this report can be filed on the HiKorea website. Paper and online filing run side by side through June 2026, but from the second half of 2026 only online filing is accepted.
Foreign buyers of Korean homes must now report visa status and residence — contracts signed from 10 February 2026
Amendments to the Enforcement Decree and Rules of the Act on Report of Real Estate Transactions were promulgated on 9 December 2025 and took effect on 10 February 2026. A foreign buyer of Korean housing must now state their status of stay (visa), Korean address, and whether they reside in Korea for 183 days or more. Buying a home inside a land transaction permission zone also requires a funding plan with supporting evidence, including the source of any overseas money.
Korea's child allowance now covers children under 9, rising one year annually to under 13 by 2030
Under the amended Child Allowance Act, the age ceiling rose from under 8 to under 9 with payments starting 24 April 2026. It then climbs one year at a time: under 10 in 2027, under 11 in 2028, under 12 in 2029 and under 13 in 2030. The monthly amount ranges from 100,000 to 130,000 won depending on where the family lives.
Korea introduces short-term parental leave of one or two weeks, available from 20 August 2026
Amendments to the enforcement decrees of the Equal Employment Act and the Employment Insurance Act were approved by the Cabinet on 11 August 2026 and took effect on 20 August. Workers can now take parental leave in a single block of one or two weeks, once a year, when a child needs concentrated care because of school holidays, a sudden closure, or hospitalisation after illness or an accident. Parental leave benefit can be paid for that period.
There's plenty of news that a rule has changed, and very little on what it actually means for you. This section does only that one thing: what changes, who it applies to, and what to do about it now.
Korean nationals and foreign residents are covered together rather than split apart. Someone who has naturalised still may find official Korean notices hard going, and foreign residents preparing for permanent residency need to understand citizen-facing rules in advance. Instead of separating them, each entry spells out exactly who it applies to and flags anything that differs by nationality or visa status. Every entry is available in Korean, English, Chinese and Vietnamese.
Sources are limited to official government and public agency publications. Press summaries and blogs are not cited, and any figure we could not confirm from an official document is simply left out. Each entry links its sources and states when the content was verified — worth a second look at the original before you actually file or apply.