Name: South Korea Minimum Hourly Wages
Creator: TRADING ECONOMICS
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Keywords: South Korea,Minimum Wages,data,chart,actual,historical,values,calendar,forecast,graph,2025,2026,2027

Minimum Wages in South Korea increased to 10320 KRW/Hour in 2026 from 10030 KRW/Hour in 2025. Minimum Wages in South Korea averaged 4285.79 KRW/Hour from 1989 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 10320.00 KRW/Hour in 2026 and a record low of 600.00 KRW/Hour in 1989. source: Minimum Wage Council

Minimum Wages in South Korea is expected to reach 10200.00 KRW/Hour by the end of 2026, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the South Korea Minimum Hourly Wages is projected to trend around 10600.00 KRW/Hour in 2027, according to our econometric models.

Related	Last	Previous	Unit	Reference
Employed Persons	27986.00	28209.00	Thousand	Jan 2026
Employment Change	0.40	0.60	Percent	Jan 2026
Employment Rate	61.00	61.50	percent	Jan 2026
Labor Force Participation Rate	64.70	64.80	percent	Jan 2026
Minimum Wages	10320.00	10030.00	KRW/Hour	Dec 2026
Population	51.69	51.75	Million	Dec 2025
Productivity	96.10	101.50	points	Sep 2025
Retirement Age Men	60.00	60.00	Years	Dec 2025
Retirement Age Women	60.00	60.00	Years	Dec 2025
Unemployed Persons	1211.00	1217.00	Thousand	Jan 2026
Unemployment Rate	3.00	3.30	percent	Jan 2026
Wages	4531450.00	4293856.00	KRW/Month	Sep 2025
Wages in Manufacturing	5045058.00	4689233.00	KRW/Month	Sep 2025
Youth Unemployment Rate	6.80	6.20	percent	Jan 2026

South Korea Minimum Hourly Wages

In South Korea, minimum wage refers to the lowest gross wage per hour, regardless employment status or nationality. There are some exceptions to this rule: businesses that only employ family members or relatives living in the same residence; domestic service users; seamen who are governed by the seamen act and the ship owners who employ those seamen.