Seoul Bus Ordinary Wage Ruling: How It Affects Your Pay in Korea

Why Does the Seoul Bus Ordinary-Wage Ruling Matter?

"Seoul bus ordinary wage" (서울버스 통상임금) is a topic so widely searched that it appears in Naver's autocomplete suggestions. This case is not simply about bus drivers' pay — it addresses the core legal question of whether regular bonuses (정기상여금) can be treated as ordinary wage (통상임금). The answer affects not only the bus industry but every workplace in manufacturing, services, and beyond that pays bonuses.

What Is Ordinary Wage?

Under Article 6 of the Enforcement Decree of the Labor Standards Act (근로기준법 시행령 제6조), ordinary wage means wages set to be paid regularly, uniformly, and unconditionally for contracted work hours. It serves as the base unit rate for calculating overtime, night-shift, and holiday work allowances under Article 56 of the Labor Standards Act (근로기준법 제56조), unused annual-leave (연차유급휴가) allowances under Article 60 (제60조), and severance pay (퇴직금) under Article 8 of the Act on the Guarantee of Workers' Retirement Benefits (퇴직급여법 제8조). Because a higher ordinary wage raises all of these allowances simultaneously, it is a sensitive issue for both employers and workers.

Note for foreign workers: Your employment contract may set allowances above the statutory minimum, but the statutory calculation method described here applies regardless.

Core Issues in the Seoul Bus Case

Seoul city bus companies had long excluded regular bonuses from ordinary wage when calculating overtime and night-shift allowances. Bus drivers filed lawsuits challenging this practice, and the courts ruled that even bonuses paid every other month or quarterly qualify as ordinary wage if the payment conditions are fixed. The Supreme Court has consistently upheld this principle since its 2013 en banc ruling (2012다89399), and in the 2024 en banc ruling (2020다247190) it further clarified that bonuses conditioned on being employed at the time of payment are also, in principle, included in ordinary wage.

Does My Company's Bonus Count as Ordinary Wage?

A bonus qualifies as ordinary wage if it meets all three of the following criteria:

1. Regularity (정기성): Paid on a fixed cycle — monthly, every two months, quarterly, twice a year, etc.
2. Uniformity (일률성): Paid equally to all workers, or to all workers who meet a defined condition.
3. Fixed nature (고정성): Paid unconditionally, without depending on individual performance or additional requirements.

Performance bonuses whose payment is uncertain — for example, "paid only if this month's results are good" — lack the fixed nature and are excluded from ordinary wage. By contrast, a bonus explicitly stated in the rules of employment or a collective agreement as "100% of base salary paid every quarter to employees currently employed" is highly likely to qualify as ordinary wage.

Practical Impact When Ordinary Wage Is Recalculated

Consider a worker receiving a monthly base salary of KRW 3,000,000 plus a quarterly bonus equivalent to KRW 500,000 per month. Including the bonus in ordinary wage raises the hourly ordinary-wage rate. The 2026 minimum wage is KRW 10,320 per hour (KRW 2,156,880 per month based on 209 hours), but ordinary wage is calculated separately from the minimum wage, based on the actual agreed pay. Once the bonus is included in ordinary wage, the premium rate per hour of overtime rises, and the bases for unused annual-leave allowances and severance pay also increase.

How to Claim Retroactive Pay

The extinctive prescription period for wage claims is 3 years under Article 49 of the Labor Standards Act (근로기준법 제49조). Whether you are still employed or have already left, you may claim the difference in unpaid allowances within 3 years. If a company refuses payment by invoking the good-faith principle (신의칙), the scope of that defense has been greatly narrowed following the 2024 Supreme Court en banc ruling, so it is important to consult a specialist and develop a response strategy.

To find out exactly what your ordinary wage is and how your take-home pay would change if bonuses are included, try the salary take-home calculator at Workbear (workbear.kr). Enter your base salary and each allowance item to instantly see your net pay after the four major social insurance deductions. If you suspect an ordinary-wage dispute, you can also use the AI labor-law search feature to quickly find relevant court rulings and administrative interpretations.

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