Working Hours in Korea: The 52-Hour Week, Overtime Pay and Your Rights as a Foreign Worker

The standard week and the 52-hour cap

Under the Labor Standards Act (geunrogijunbeop, 근로기준법), the standard work week is 40 hours — 8 hours a day over five days — excluding recess. Work beyond 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week is overtime, and the Act caps extended hours at 12 hours a week, giving a maximum of 52 hours a week in workplaces with five or more employees.

The cap was phased in from 2018 by employer size, and it is a legal ceiling: employers who exceed it face penalties. Weekend work counts toward the weekly cap, and overtime requires consent — usually through a written agreement with the worker or a collective agreement. Smaller workplaces with fewer than five employees are exempt from some provisions, but the minimum-wage and unpaid-wage protections still apply.

Overtime, night and holiday pay

Non-regular working hours are paid at a premium (Article 56 of the Labor Standards Act):

• Overtime (over 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week): 1.5x the ordinary hourly wage
• Night work (10 pm – 6 am): 1.5x
• Holiday work: 1.5x for the first 8 hours, 2x beyond 8 hours

The premiums stack. Overtime worked at night is 2x (1.5x overtime + 0.5x night), and holiday night overtime is higher still. There is no cultural exemption from the premium — it is mandatory.

Watch for the comprehensive wage clause (pogwalimgeumje, 포괄임금제), a fixed monthly salary claimed to include all overtime. Korean courts have repeatedly ruled such arrangements invalid for ordinary office workers, so if your contract has one and you work real overtime, it may be worth challenging.

Breaks and weekly rest

The Act also guarantees rest:

• Breaks — at least 30 minutes for a shift of 4 hours, and at least 1 hour for a shift of 8 hours, taken during working hours.
• Weekly rest — at least one paid day off per week (typically Sunday), for workers who average more than 15 hours a week.
• Public holidays — 15 designated holidays are paid days off for workplaces with five or more employees.

Many foreign workers are surprised by how strong these protections are — they apply from the first day of employment and cannot be signed away in a contract.

What applies to foreign workers

The Labor Standards Act protects all workers physically employed in Korea, regardless of nationality or visa status. E-7 specialists, E-9 workers, D-series, F-series and long-term residents are all covered on the same terms as Korean workers. Key protections include the 52-hour cap, the 1.5x overtime premium, annual leave, the minimum wage (10,320 won per hour in 2026) and severance after one year of service.

Two practical caveats:

• Agricultural and fishery work is exempt from some working-hours and overtime rules under Article 63, which mainly affects certain E-9 agricultural placements.
• Visa conditions can set their own floor. E-7 professional visas have their own annual salary minimums set by the Ministry of Justice, which are separate from the working-hours rules.

Your employment contract must state your start and end times and weekly hours. Keep your own record of hours worked — it is the evidence that matters if you ever claim unpaid overtime.

If your rights are violated

If an employer demands hours beyond the cap or refuses to pay overtime, the practical route is the Ministry of Employment and Labor (goyongnodongbu, 고용노동부):

• File a complaint at your local labor office, in person or online.
• The MOEL hotline 1350 offers multilingual support and can direct you to the right office.
• Bring your contract, payslips, attendance records and any written schedule — these are what prove the hours.

Unpaid wages are a criminal offence in Korea, and the labor office can order the employer to pay what is owed, including the overtime premium. If you are also dealing with termination, our severance pay guide and work visa guide cover the related steps.

Note — the 52-hour framework and premium rates are periodically revised, and some industries have special rules. Confirm the current provisions with the Ministry of Employment and Labor before acting on the figures in this guide.