Annual Leave in Korea: How Many Days You Get and the Rules Around Using Them

The basic entitlement

Paid annual leave in Korea is set by Article 60 of the Labor Standards Act (geunrogijunbeop, 근로기준법). The core rule:

• Any employee who has worked one year with an attendance rate of 80% or more is entitled to 15 days of paid leave.
• In the first year (or if attendance is below 80%), you accrue one paid day per month of continuous service, up to 11 days.

The entitlement applies in workplaces with five or more employees. You choose when to take the leave, though the employer may change the timing if granting it would seriously disrupt business.

The seniority increase

After three years of service, the leave grows with seniority:

Years of service	Annual leave
1 year	15 days
3 years	16 days
5 years	17 days
7 years	18 days
9 years	19 days
11 years	20 days
…	+1 day every 2 years
21+ years	25 days (cap)

So you gain one extra day for every two years of continuous service beyond the first year, up to a maximum of 25 days.

Unused leave: expiry and compensation

Annual leave expires if not used within one year of it accruing — it does not roll over indefinitely. However, there is an important protection:

• The employer is required under Article 61 to urge employees in writing to use their leave (typically within 10 days of the point six months before the leave expires, and again before the end of the first year).
• If the employer fails to urge its use, the right to compensation for unused leave does not expire.
• If the employer did urge its use and the leave still goes unused, the unused-leave claim generally lapses.

In practice, unused leave that the employer failed to promote is compensated at your ordinary wage when you leave. Keep any written notice from HR about leave so the picture is clear.

How the rules apply to foreign workers

Annual leave applies to foreign workers on the same terms as Korean workers, regardless of visa type. E-7 specialists, E-9 workers, D-series and F-series residents all accrue the same entitlement under Article 60, and an employer cannot contract it away.

Two practical notes for foreign workers:

• First-year accrual — even before your one-year anniversary you earn one paid day per month of attendance, up to 11 days, so you are not leave-less in year one.
• Notice language — courts have held that leave-use promotion notices written only in a language the employee cannot understand may not satisfy the legal requirement, which can expose the employer to unused-leave compensation claims.
• Public holidays — workplaces with five or more employees must also treat the designated public holidays as paid days off, on top of your annual leave.

If your leave is not being granted, our working hours guide and the Ministry of Employment and Labor hotline (1350) cover the practical route for raising a complaint.

Practical checklist

• Track your accrual — count your service date and attendance; after one year at 80%+ you should see 15 days (minus any first-year days already used).
• Take it within a year — unused leave expires after a year, so schedule it before the window closes.
• Keep the notice — if HR urges you in writing to use leave, respond; if they never do, unused-leave compensation stays available.
• Check your contract — some employers grant more than the statutory minimum; what matters is that you never get less.

Note — leave rules apply to workplaces with five or more employees, and some provisions (mandatory leave, dismissal notice) are relaxed for smaller workplaces, though the minimum wage and unpaid-wage protections still apply.