Labor Standards Act of the Republic of Korea
lastmod 2025-07-01created 2015-04-2813 edits
The purpose of this Act is to establish the standards for working conditions in accordance with the Constitution, thereby securing and improving the basic livelihood of workers and promoting the balanced development of the national economy.
Article 60 (Annual paid leave)
| WARNING |
| This item was last checked on April 28, 2015 |
- An employer shall grant 15 days of paid leave to a worker who has attended work for at least 80 percent of one year. <Amended 2012.2.1.>
- An employer shall grant one day of paid leave for each month of perfect attendance to a worker who has worked continuously for less than one year or who has attended work for less than 80 percent of one year. <Amended 2012.2.1.>
- Where an employer grants paid leave for a worker's first year of work, the leave shall be 15 days including the leave under paragraph (2), and where the worker has already used leave under paragraph (2), the number of days used shall be deducted from the 15 days.
- An employer shall grant a worker who has worked continuously for three or more years paid leave in which one day is added to the leave under paragraph (1) for every two years of continuous service beyond the first year. In such cases, the total number of days of leave, including the additional leave, shall be limited to 25 days.
- An employer shall grant the leave under paragraphs (1) through (4) at the time requested by the worker, and shall pay the ordinary wages or average wages prescribed by the rules of employment, etc. for that period. However, where granting leave at the time requested by the worker would seriously disrupt business operations, the employer may change the time.
- In applying paragraphs (1) through (3), any of the following periods shall be deemed to be attendance. <Amended 2012.2.1.>
- A period during which a worker is off work due to an occupational injury or illness
- A period during which a pregnant woman is off work on leave under Article 74 (1) through (3)
Regulations on the Service of State Public Officials
Article 20 (Special leave)
Maternity health leave (menstrual leave)
Female public officials may take one day of women's health leave each month to rest during their menstrual period. In this case, the women's health leave is unpaid. <Amended 2011. 7. 4., 2019. 12. 31.>
Q&A on managing sick leave
| WARNING |
| This item was last checked on February 28, 2022 |
See #Article 60 (Annual paid leave) of the Labor Standards Act.
- If a weekly holiday falls within a sick leave period, must weekly holiday allowance be paid?
- Under Article 55 of the Labor Standards Act and Article 30 of its Enforcement Decree, an employer shall give a worker who has attended all the prescribed working days in a week at least one paid holiday per week on average.
- The holiday system under the Labor Standards Act exists so that workers can recover from fatigue and restore their health after continuous work and enjoy a social and cultural life as human beings through the use of leisure. Applying the holiday provisions presupposes a normal employment relationship, that is, a state in which the worker has been providing work and continued provision of work is expected. During a leave of absence for personal reasons or the like, in which the worker's main rights and obligations are suspended and the worker does not provide work, the right to claim wages, as the worker's main right in exchange for the obligation to provide work, does not arise unless there are special circumstances. Therefore, in such cases, the right to claim wages for paid holidays included in the leave period does not arise either (Supreme Court 2009.12.24., 2007Da73277, 2010.7.15., 2008Da33399, etc.)
- Therefore, there is no obligation to pay wages for paid weekly holidays included in a sick leave period, unless a collective agreement or the rules of employment provide for wage payment during sick leave, or an agreement or practice between the parties regarding such payment is recognized. (Working Conditions Improvement Policy Division-2759, 2013-05-08)
- Can an employer require workers to use their remaining annual leave before using sick leave?
- Under Article 60 (1) of the Labor Standards Act, an employer shall grant 15 days of paid leave to a worker who has attended work for at least 80 percent of one year, and under paragraph (5) of the same Article, must let the worker use it at the time the worker requests.
- Regarding the use of annual leave, an employer cannot designate a specific time and require a worker to take leave, except in the case of promoting the use of annual leave under Article 61 of the Labor Standards Act or substituting paid leave under Article 62 of the same Act.
- Meanwhile, since sick leave is not provided for in the Labor Standards Act, its use can be handled according to the collective agreement, rules of employment, etc. where they provide for it. Requiring a worker to use annual leave first when taking sick leave for a non-occupational illness or the like is hard to conclude as a violation of the law if it is based on a labor-management agreement.
- However, requiring a worker, without the worker's application, to use in advance the annual leave that will arise in the following year when taking sick leave may violate the Labor Standards Act, considering that whether the annual leave will arise is uncertain, that it may run counter to the purpose of annual leave of providing the worker with opportunities for mental and physical rest, and that it may infringe the worker's right to designate the timing of annual leave that will arise in the future. (Working Conditions Improvement Policy Division-4027, 2014-07-18)
- If sick leave days can be treated as absences, what is the legal difference between sick leave and absence?
- Sick leave is not statutory leave, and it means the worker cannot provide the prescribed work due to the worker's own circumstances. It can therefore be treated as absence when paying weekly holiday allowance, judging perfect attendance for calculating annual leave, or calculating the attendance rate. That is, for a week in which sick leave was used, the paid weekly holiday allowance may not be paid, and the one day of annual leave that arises for a worker of less than one year on the condition of a month of perfect attendance may also not arise.
- However, where there are special provisions, such as rules of employment or a collective agreement deeming sick leave days as attendance, they cannot be treated as absences accordingly.
- The meaning that sick leave can be treated as "absence" is limited to its application to weekly holiday allowance and annual leave calculation, which require perfect attendance. Sick leave and absence have distinct legal meanings with respect to inclusion in the average wage calculation period, grounds for disciplinary action, and so on.
- In general, "absence," beyond simply not coming to work on a prescribed working day, can be grounds for disciplinary action as a sign of poor attendance in relation to the duty of faithful work, and absence days are in principle unpaid. On the other hand, sick leave is leave allowed with the employer's approval in recognition of the worker's legitimate circumstances, so it cannot be grounds for disciplinary action, and the sick leave period can be run as paid or unpaid according to the rules of employment, etc.
- In addition, since "a period of absence from work with the employer's approval due to a non-occupational injury or illness or other reasons" can be excluded from the period and total wages used as the basis for calculating average wages, an unpaid sick leave period premised on the employer's approval does not disadvantage the average wage even if it falls within the 3 months before retirement. For absences, however, it depends on whether the employer's approval was obtained, so in the case of absence without prior approval, even if the absence period falls within the 3 months before retirement, it must be included in both the average wage calculation period and the total wages.
- Must paid sick leave be granted for COVID-19 vaccination?
- A bill that would force employers to grant paid vaccine leave because of after-effects such as fever from COVID-19 vaccination is pending in the National Assembly, and there is currently no legal basis forcing paid vaccine leave, so paid leave is a recommendation.
- That is, a worker who has been vaccinated can apply for and use their own annual leave, the company can grant separate paid special leave apart from annual leave, and the worker can also use unpaid leave such as sick leave.
- According to recent guidelines from the Ministry of Employment and Labor, it is recommended to grant vaccinated workers the time needed for vaccination on the day of vaccination, to grant leave as far as possible on the day after vaccination if they apply because of adverse symptoms after vaccination, and, when a worker applies for leave because of an adverse reaction after vaccination, to grant paid leave without requiring separate documents such as a doctor's note.
- In addition, since the worker has the right to designate the timing of annual leave and the employer's right to change the timing is allowed only where business operations would be seriously disrupted, it is recommended that when a worker applies for annual paid leave to rest after vaccination, the employer refrain from changing the timing and do its best to let the worker use annual paid leave at the time the worker wants.
Weekly holiday allowance
Weekly holiday allowance (週休手當) is the money a worker receives for a paid weekly holiday. Under the Labor Standards Act of the Republic of Korea, an employer shall give a worker who has attended all the prescribed working days in a week at least one paid holiday per week on average. (Article 55) This paid holiday is called the weekly holiday.
Safe reasons to give for annual leave
- A roundup of safe example reasons for annual leave
- Health reasons (headache, toothache, upset stomach, body aches, feeling unwell), hospital visit
- Personal rest (to refresh, to take some personal rest)
- Errands that overlap with working hours, such as at a bank; financial errands (visits to a bank, hospital, service center, etc.)
- Weekday errands at government offices (reissuing a resident registration card, driver's license, etc.)
- Own health checkup (feeling so unwell that a checkup is needed)
- Parents' health checkup (they have limited mobility, or a colonoscopy, sedation endoscopy, etc.)
- Personal matters of family and acquaintances (traffic accident, sudden accident, loss of contact, etc.)
- Personal reasons, personal matters, personal errands, personal circumstances (caring for a sick person, replacing a water purifier filter, car inspection and repair, etc.)
- Various events, family occasions, family events, household events (jesa (ancestral rite), grandparents'/parents' birthdays, 70th birthday, 80th birthday, caring for a sick person, wedding, funeral, moving)
- Education and self-improvement
- Community service and civic activities
- Visiting the countryside or grandmother's house
- Domestic or overseas travel
- Hospital visit for a chronic illness
- Caring for a sick family member
- Real estate
- Home repairs
Hospital visit
If you are sick, you may get sympathy from your boss. Being sick is the most common and widely used reason. Few companies force you to come to work when you are sick. You may also have a chronic condition such as a herniated disc.
- Acute conditions
- Cold
- Indigestion
- Headache
- Body aches
- Upset stomach
- Eye infection
- Health checkup
- Gastroscopy
- Colonoscopy
- Root canal treatment
- Wisdom tooth extraction
- Physical therapy
Various events
Most workplaces are understanding if you use annual leave for family events and other family occasions. People use annual leave when facing big events such as a family trip or a move.
- Jesa (ancestral rite)
- Grandparents' or parents' birthday
- Caring for a sick person
- Wedding
- Funeral
- Moving
Personal errands
Office workers in particular often can only take care of personal errands outside by taking annual leave. Banking, car maintenance, home repairs, and errands at government offices can fall into this category.
- Paperwork
- Issuing a passport or ID card
- Bank consultation (loans, etc.)
- Visiting government offices (police station, tax office, judicial scrivener, etc.)
- Home repairs (water purifier, air conditioner, TV installation, etc.)
- Car repair and maintenance
Personal reasons you'd rather not disclose
There are countless personal reasons you may not want to disclose. So when asked the reason for annual leave, ending it with "personal reasons" is clean and good for both the company and the worker. You also won't need to worry about what others think.
However, if the company insists on asking, it is advisable to give one of the common reasons above and use your annual leave. There is no need to write a false reason for leave; it is advisable to choose the common reason closest to your actual reason.
For example, if you have to appear at a police station or court because of an unpleasant matter, it is best to submit "visiting a government office" as the reason, and if you are going on a trip with family or friends, submit "family occasion" or the like.
Justification for rejecting annual leave reasons
- 3 recommended reasons for annual leave - how to take annual leave without worrying what others think
- My company says it will reject annual leave requests unless the reason is written in detail. (They actually were rejected.) Is it okay to just give notice and take leave without stating a reason?
- Under Article 60 (5) of the Labor Standards Act, an employer shall grant the leave under paragraphs (1) through (4) at the time requested by the worker, and shall pay the ordinary wages or average wages prescribed by the rules of employment, etc. for that period. However, where granting leave at the time requested by the worker would seriously disrupt business operations, the employer may change the time.
- Whether business operations would be seriously disrupted is judged by considering the nature of the work handled by the person requesting leave, how busy the work is, how difficult it is to assign a substitute, the number of workers requesting leave at the same time, and so on, and the judgment must be reasonable by social norms. If business operations would be seriously disrupted because staff are temporarily short due to sick leave, leaves of absence, resignations, etc., or because leave requests are concentrated on certain days, the employer may exercise the right to change the timing as appropriate, but not granting leave at all because of a staff shortage is a violation of the law (Ministry of Employment and Labor administrative interpretation, Geungi 68207-2062, 2001.6.28.).
In other words, regardless of the worker's reason, if a worker requests annual paid leave, the employer must grant it, and can only change the requested date where business operations would be seriously disrupted.