Severance pay calculator

This Korean severance pay calculator (퇴직금) works out your days employed and the average wage period from your start and leaving dates. It then adds bonuses and unused annual leave pay the way the Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor describes, and shows your average daily wage and estimated severance pay. This calculator follows Korean severance pay rules.

The actual amount depends on your company rules and pay details. Use this as an estimate only.

How to use

Pick your start date.
Pick your leaving date, which is the day after your last working day.
Enter the total wages (base pay and allowances) you received during the average wage period shown on screen.
If you received bonuses or unused annual leave pay, enter them. Otherwise leave them blank.

How it works

The Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor gives this formula:

Severance pay = average daily wage × 30 days × (days employed ÷ 365)

The average daily wage is your total wages for the three months before your leaving date, divided by the calendar days in those months. For example, if you leave on July 16, the period is April 16 to July 15. Bonuses paid in the 12 months before you leave, and unused annual leave pay for leave accrued in the previous year, are each added at 3/12.

If the result is lower than your ordinary wage (통상임금), the ordinary wage is used instead.

Example

If you started on July 16, 2023 and leave on July 16, 2026 (last working day July 15), you were employed for 1,096 days, and the average wage period is April 16 to July 15, 2026, which is 91 days.

With wages of 9,000,000 in that period, the average daily wage is about 98,901 and the estimated severance pay is 8,909,228. Adding 4,000,000 in bonuses and 1,200,000 in leave pay contributes 1,000,000 and 300,000 (3/12 of each), so the average daily wage becomes about 113,187 and the estimated severance pay 10,196,116.

Good to know

This calculator follows Korean law, the Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act. It does not apply to jobs outside Korea.
Your leaving date is the day after your last working day. The Ministry's own calculator asks for it the same way.
If the same day three months earlier does not exist (for example, leaving on May 31), the period starts on the last day of that month. We could not confirm this rule in official sources, so the period may differ from the Ministry's calculator by one to three days. Check the period shown on screen.
Unused leave pay that first becomes payable because you leave is not included. Enter only unused pay for leave accrued in the previous year.
Workers with less than one year of service, or scheduled for fewer than 15 hours a week on average, are excluded. This calculator does not check working hours.
Periods excluded from the average wage, such as parental leave, are not handled here. Use the Ministry's calculator in that case.
Taxes are not included, and the result is not compared with your ordinary wage. This is general information, not legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

When is severance pay owed?

Under Korean law it is generally owed after at least one year of continuous service, when you leave the job.

How is the average daily wage calculated?

Take your total wages for the three months before your leaving date, add 3/12 of your bonuses and unused annual leave pay, and divide by the number of calendar days in those three months.

Why can my actual payment differ?

Bonus treatment, tax deductions, and company rules can all change the final amount.

Sources

Last updated: 2026-10-29