How to Calculate Daily Ordinary Wage in Korea – Guide for Foreign Workers

What Is Daily Ordinary Wage?

Current standard (July 2026) — the Supreme Court en banc decision of 19 December 2024 (2020다247190, 2023다302838) abolished the "fixedness" requirement for ordinary wage. The test is now consideration for contractual work, regularity and uniformity, and regular bonuses carrying a continued-employment or minimum-workdays condition do qualify. Any "fixedness" discussion below reflects the former 2013 standard. The new standard applies, in principle, to ordinary-wage calculations made on or after the ruling date (19 December 2024).

Ordinary wage (통상임금) refers to wages that are regularly and uniformly paid as consideration for contractual work to a worker as agreed upon — as defined in Article 6 of the Enforcement Decree of the Labor Standards Act (근로기준법 시행령 제6조). The daily ordinary wage is ordinary wage converted into a per-day unit, and it serves as the basis for calculating various statutory allowances including overtime pay, night-work pay, holiday pay, advance notice pay for dismissal, and annual leave pay.

Formula for Calculating Daily Ordinary Wage

Daily ordinary wage is calculated in two steps.

① Calculate the Hourly Ordinary Wage

For monthly-salaried workers, divide the monthly ordinary wage by the monthly contractual working hours to get the hourly rate.

Hourly ordinary wage = Monthly ordinary wage ÷ Monthly contractual working hours

For workplaces with a 40-hour workweek, the monthly contractual working hours are typically 209 hours (including weekly holiday hours).

② Convert to Daily Ordinary Wage

Daily ordinary wage = Hourly ordinary wage × Daily contractual working hours

For example, if the monthly ordinary wage is ₩2,500,000 and the daily contractual working hours are 8 hours:
- Hourly wage = 2,500,000 ÷ 209 ≈ ₩11,962
- Daily ordinary wage = 11,962 × 8 = ₩95,694

What Is Included vs. Excluded from Ordinary Wage

To qualify as ordinary wage, an item must satisfy all three criteria: consideration for contractual work, regularity and uniformity — as re-established by the Supreme Court en banc decisions of 19 December 2024 (2020다247190·2023다302838); the former standard was set by the 2013 en banc decision (대법원 2012다89399·2012다94643 전원합의체 판결).

Included items (examples)
- Base salary
- Position allowance, job duty allowance
- Qualification allowance
- Meal and transportation allowances paid fixedly (when paid uniformly to all employees)
- Seniority allowance

Excluded items (examples)
- Performance-based bonuses that vary by results
- Holiday bonuses paid only at a single point in time, where regularity is absent (the employment condition itself is no longer a ground for exclusion after Dec 2024)
- Business expense reimbursements and field activity costs of an actual-cost-reimbursement nature
- Condolence money for welfare purposes

⚠️ Whether a bonus qualifies as ordinary wage depends on the specific conditions and method of payment. Always check the exact wording of the employment rules (취업규칙) and collective agreement (단체협약). Note that your contract may set terms different from the statutory minimum.

Key Situations Where Daily Ordinary Wage Is Used in Practice

Advance notice pay for dismissal (해고예고수당) must be paid when an employer dismisses a worker without 30 days' prior notice, as required under Article 26 of the Labor Standards Act (근로기준법 제26조). The basis for this payment is the daily ordinary wage.

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Arbitrarily setting monthly contractual working hours
For a 40-hour workweek workplace, 209 hours is the standard, but this can vary depending on the work schedule — such as alternating weeks off or flexible working arrangements. Always verify your employment contract and workplace rules.

Mistake 2: Confusing ordinary wage with average wage
Severance pay (퇴직금) and shutdown allowances are based on average wage (평균임금), while overtime, night-work, and holiday allowances are based on ordinary wage (통상임금). Confusing the two can result in underpayment or overpayment of allowances.

Check It Directly on Workbear

If you want to find out how much your ordinary wage is from your monthly salary, or verify that your overtime pay has been calculated correctly, try the Workbear (workbear.kr) salary take-home pay calculator. Enter your base salary and each allowance item to easily check your take-home pay along with ordinary-wage-based allowance calculations. If the calculated results differ from your actual pay slip, use the AI search feature to look up the legal principles that apply to your situation.

Related guides cover the same issue from other angles: see Ordinary Wage in Korea for the criteria, and Ordinary Wage in Korea for calculation and examples.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific cases, consult a certified labor attorney (노무사) or lawyer.