Annual Paid Leave under the Korean Labor Standards Act
    • Date2025/03/27 17:27
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    The Labor Standards Act regulates the criteria for granting annual leave and its usage period.
    Below are the main provisions regarding annual leave:
     
    1. Criteria for Granting Annual Leave (Article 60 of the Labor Standards Act)
    1. Employees with less than one year of continuous service or with an attendance rate of less than 80% during one year are entitled to one day of annual leave for each full month of service.
    2. Employees with an attendance rate of 80% or more during one year are entitled to 15 days of annual leave.
    3. Employees with three or more years of continuous service are entitled to one additional day of annual leave every two years (i.e., in the 3rd, 5th, 7th year, etc.). The total number of annual leave days, including the additional leave, is capped at 25 days.
    4. Annual leave must be used within one year after it is granted.
     
    2. Methods of Granting Annual Leave
    While annual leave is typically granted based on the employee’s work anniversary, many companies grant leave based on the fiscal year due to the administrative burden of tracking each employee’s individual start date and attendance record.
    The fiscal year is usually from January 1 to December 31, but some companies may set different periods, such as from March 1 to the end of February of the following year. 
    (1) Granting Annual Leave Based on the Employment Start Date
    If an employee joins the company on March 2, 2022, and meets the attendance requirements, their annual leave will be granted as follows based on the start date:
    • April 2, 2022 – February 2, 2023: 1 day per month → 11 days in total
    • March 2, 2023: 15 days
    • March 2, 2024: 15 days
    • March 2, 2025: 16 days
    • March 2, 2026: 16 days
    • March 2, 2027: 17 days
    • …
    • Capped at a maximum of 25 days
    (2) Granting Annual Leave Based on the Fiscal Year
    If an employee joins the company on March 2, 2022, and meets the attendance requirements, their annual leave will be granted as follows based on the fiscal year:
    • April 2, 2022 – February 2, 2023: 1 day per month → 11 days in total
    • January 1, 2023: 13 days
    • January 1, 2024: 15 days
    • January 1, 2025: 15 days
    • January 1, 2026: 16 days
    • January 1, 2027: 16 days
    • January 1, 2028: 17 days
    • …
    • Capped at a maximum of 25 days
     

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