Korean Annual Leave Calculator
From a hire date: leave earned, leave still usable, the next grant and the day each one lapses.
| Arises | Days | Basis | Usable until |
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Statutory minimum under the Labour Standards Act, computed from the hire date and assuming full attendance. A contract or work rule granting more takes precedence.
How to use
- Enter the hire date.
- The reference date is today; change it to see the position on another date.
- Read what is usable now, then check the schedule for when the next days arrive and when unused ones lapse.
Examples
The trap at the one-year mark
Someone hired on 1 January 2026 collects one day for each completed month: eleven days by 1 December. On 1 January 2027 fifteen days arrive — and all eleven monthly days lapse the same day, because since the 2020 amendment they run to the one-year mark rather than a year from each grant. The total earned reads 26, but only 15 are usable.
Where the extra days start
The first two years are fifteen days each. The third brings sixteen, the fifth seventeen, the tenth nineteen — one more day for every two years past the first. It is worth knowing the date rather than the year: the increase lands on the hire anniversary, not in January.
Where it stops
The additional days are capped at 25, which is reached after 21 years of service. Someone at 30 years still gets 25. The cap is on the statutory floor only; a contract or work rule can grant more.
Hired at the end of a month
Someone hired on 31 January completes their first month on 28 February, not 3 March — a short month clamps to its last day. The following months land on the 31st again where the month has one. The schedule shows each date rather than assuming a fixed day of the month.
Checking a date in the past or future
Changing the reference date shows the position on that day: how much had been earned, how much was still usable, and what had already lapsed. Useful for working out how many days should have been left at the end of last year, or how many will be available when a planned trip comes around.
FAQ
When does annual leave first arise?
One day for each completed month of service, starting one month after the hire date rather than on it — art. 60(2) of the Labour Standards Act. That runs to eleven days, because the twelfth completed month is the one-year mark and carries its own grant of fifteen days under art. 60(1).
What happens to the monthly days at one year?
They all lapse. Since the 2020 amendment the days earned during the first year must be taken within one year of the hire date, so the eleven days expire on the first anniversary no matter when each of them arose. A great deal of leave is lost to this, which is why the calculator shows the lapse date next to every grant rather than only a total.
Why does the number go up every second year?
Art. 60(4) adds one day for every two years of service beyond the first. So fifteen days in years one and two, sixteen in years three and four, seventeen in five and six, and so on. The increase takes effect on the hire anniversary.
Is there an upper limit?
Yes — 25 days including the added ones, reached at 21 years of service. That is the statutory ceiling, not a ceiling on what an employer may grant.
My employer runs leave on the fiscal year. Does this still apply?
The days are the same; the dates are not. Many Korean employers grant everyone their leave on 1 January and pro-rate the first partial year, which is permitted as long as no one ends up worse off than the Act provides. How that pro-rating is done varies between workplaces, so this calculator does not model it — it computes the statutory position from the hire date, which is the floor an employer has to settle up against when someone leaves.
What if a month was not worked in full?
The monthly grant requires the month to have been worked without absence, and the fifteen-day grant requires attendance of at least 80% of the year. The calculator assumes both are met, so a year with unpaid absence can come out lower than shown. It also does not know about parental leave, industrial injury or other periods that are treated as attendance by law.
Is unused leave paid out?
Generally yes, as compensation for untaken leave — but an employer that has properly followed the leave-usage promotion procedure in art. 61 is relieved of that obligation. This calculator counts days, not money: it does not compute any payment.
What if my employer’s figure is different?
The Act sets a minimum, so a higher figure is simply a better contract or work rule and is perfectly valid. A lower one is worth asking about — bring the hire date and the schedule shown here. For a dispute rather than a question, the Ministry of Employment and Labour handles complaints; this tool is a calculation, not legal advice.