Standard Employment Contract

About this template

When to use it

A one-page Standard Employment Contract with no fixed term, built on the standard form published by Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor. Korean law governs it: article 17 of the Labor Standards Act requires the wage, contract working hours, holidays and annual paid leave to be put in writing and a copy handed to the employee, and not doing so carries a fine. The field names are Korean labor-law terms, not their nearest American equivalents — keep contract working hours, weekly holiday, annual paid leave and the four social insurances as they are.

Filling order

1. The four-cell table under the title comes first: Start date of work / Contract type / Place of employment / Date copy given, shipped as 2026-03-02, “No fixed term”, “Head office, 3rd floor”. For a fixed-term contract, write both dates into the Contract type cell.
2. 1. Contract period and duties — start date of work, place of employment, description of work. All three are required by statute, so leave none of them blank.
3. 2. Working hours, holidays and leave — the sample reads “Contract working hours 09:00 to 18:00 (8 hours a day, 40 hours a week)” and “Break time 12:00 to 13:00 (excluded from working hours)”. At least 30 minutes of break is owed for 4 hours of work and an hour for 8.
4. 3. Wages and social insurance — the components of the wage, then the payment date and method, then which insurances apply.
5. In the three-cell block at the foot the employer and employee each sign, and the employee signs Copy of contract received to acknowledge it.

Four things people leave out

• An amount alone is not enough. The wage line splits into monthly (daily, hourly) wage, bonus and other allowances. Where an allowance is paid, give its amount and how it is calculated.
• The payment method reads “deposited to a bank account in the employee’s name”. Change that wording if you pay in cash.
• The insurance line names all four — employment insurance, national pension, health insurance and industrial accident insurance. If one does not apply, say why.
• For a probation period, add a line under section 1 with its length and wage. A reduced probation wage cannot fall below 90% of the minimum wage, and the reduction is unavailable where the contract runs under a year or the work is simple manual labor.

The metrics table only repeats the body

The four cells under Key metrics read 40 hrs/week, KRW 2,200,000, 25th monthly and 15 days. They restate values already fixed above, so editing the body means editing this table with it — a contract carrying two different numbers for the same thing is what gets argued over later. If the page is tight, deleting the table costs nothing.

Fixed-term and part-time need a different form

Switching the Contract type cell is not enough. A fixed-term contract needs both dates written out; a part-time contract needs the working days and the hours on each. Where contract working hours average under 15 a week across four weeks, no weekly holiday allowance and no annual paid leave arise, so cutting the hours but leaving the section 2 line untouched gives a contract that does not match the facts.

Before you send it

• Overtime, night and holiday work, all-inclusive pay, confidentiality and the reach of the rules of employment are not on this page. Add them in the same shape — heading, gray lead line, three bullets — or name a separate document.
• The Ministry publishes separate standard forms for workers under 18, part-time, fixed-term and daily-hire construction workers. Use those where they apply.
• Print two copies; one goes to the employee. Do not send it for approval with Date copy given still empty.
• This template is a general form and is not legal advice. Where rules of employment or a collective agreement apply, or the pay structure is complicated, have it reviewed by a labor attorney or your HR function before use.