How is the daily benefit (1일 구직급여액) calculated?

It is 60% of your average daily wage — your recent monthly pay divided by 30. That figure is then capped at 68,100 KRW per day (2026) and cannot fall below a floor of minimum wage × 80% × your contracted daily hours, which is 66,048 KRW for an 8-hour day. So in 2026 a full-time claimant's daily benefit sits between 66,048 and 68,100 KRW.

How many days can I receive it (소정급여일수)?

Between 120 and 270 days, set by your age when you left and your insured period. Under 50 it runs 120 / 150 / 180 / 210 / 240 days for insured periods of under 1, 1–3, 3–5, 5–10 and 10+ years. At 50+ or with a disability it runs 120 / 180 / 210 / 240 / 270.

Who is eligible for unemployment benefit?

You generally need at least 180 insured days in the 18 months before leaving, you must have left involuntarily (layoff, contract end, or a justified voluntary reason), and you must be able and actively looking for work. This calculator estimates the amount only and does not judge eligibility.

Can I get it if I quit voluntarily?

Usually not — quitting for personal convenience disqualifies you. But some voluntary resignations count as justified, such as leaving after unpaid wages, workplace harassment, a long commute caused by a relocation, or health reasons documented by a doctor. The employment center decides based on your separation code.

How do I actually apply?

Register as a job seeker on WorkNet, complete the online eligibility course, then visit your local employment center to file your claim. After that you report your job-search activity at each unemployment recognition date (about every four weeks) to keep the payments coming.

Is the amount here final, and is it taxed?

It is an estimate. 구직급여 is tax-free, so no income tax is deducted, but the official calculation may differ — for example, repeat claimants can have their benefit reduced, and your exact average wage uses actual calendar days rather than a flat 30. Confirm with the 고용보험 mock calculation before filing.

What happens to my remaining benefit if I find a job early?

You may get part of it back as the early re-employment allowance (조기재취업수당). If you take a new job — or start a business — with at least half of your benefit days still remaining, and then stay in it for 12 or more months, you receive half of the 구직급여 that was left as of the day before you started, paid as a lump sum. The sooner you re-employ, the more days remain and the larger the allowance, so it often beats drawing benefits to the very end.

Does the amount drop if I claim unemployment benefit repeatedly?

Yes. If this is your third or later claim within the past five years, it is reduced by the number of times — 10% on the 3rd, 25% on the 4th, 40% on the 5th, and up to 50% from the 6th (in force since March 2025) — and the waiting period before benefits begin can stretch to four weeks. This calculator shows the base amount before any reduction, so a repeat claimant's actual payout is lower than the figure shown here.

Does this tool upload my data?

No. Everything runs right in your browser, so your data never leaves your device — it even works offline once the page has loaded.

🧾 Korean Unemployment Benefit Calculator (구직급여)

Enter your average monthly pay for the last three months, your age when you left, and how long you were covered by employment insurance. The calculator estimates your daily benefit (1일 구직급여액) — 60% of your average daily wage, held between the 2026 cap of 68,100 KRW/day and a minimum-wage floor of 66,048 KRW/day — and multiplies it by your benefit days (소정급여일수) for the total payout. Everything runs in your browser.

The Korean unemployment benefit (실업급여) most people mean is 구직급여 — a daily payment equal to 60% of your average daily wage before leaving work, paid for a set number of days based on your age and how long you paid employment insurance.

Inputs

Average monthly pay, last 3 months (최근 3개월 평균 월급여, KRW)

Daily average wage — direct entry (1일 평균임금, optional · exact)

Age at separation (이직 당시 만 나이)

Insured period (고용보험 가입기간)

Contracted hours per day (1일 소정근로시간)

Age 50+ or registered disability (50세 이상·장애인)

Daily benefit = 60% of your average daily wage, bounded by a cap of 68,100 KRW/day and a floor of 66,048 KRW/day (minimum wage × 80% × contracted hours, 2026 basis). Average daily wage is estimated from monthly pay ÷ 30 — or enter your exact 1일 평균임금 to match the official figure. Total = daily benefit × benefit days. Amount only; eligibility (involuntary separation + 180 insured days) is separate. Estimate, pre-tax.

Daily benefit (1일 구직급여액)

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Benefit days (소정급여일수)

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Estimated total (예상 총 수급액)

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Private by design. This tool runs entirely in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded or stored, and it works offline.

About

Korea's unemployment benefit has two parts, and 실업급여 in everyday speech means the larger one, 구직급여 (job-seeking benefit). This tool estimates 구직급여 in three numbers: your daily benefit, how many days you receive it, and the total. The daily benefit is 60% of your average daily wage (평균임금) — roughly your recent monthly pay divided by 30 — but it is squeezed between two limits. The cap is 68,100 KRW per day in 2026. The floor is the minimum wage times 80% times your contracted daily hours; on the 2026 minimum wage of 10,320 KRW the floor for an 8-hour day is 66,048 KRW. These two moved together this year: the rising minimum wage pushed the floor above the old 66,000 KRW cap, so the government raised the cap to 68,100 KRW — its first increase in seven years. The practical effect is that most full-time claimants land in a narrow band between 66,048 and 68,100 KRW per day. How many days you receive (소정급여일수) depends on two things: your age when you left and how long you paid employment insurance. Someone under 50 with 1–3 insured years receives 150 days; the same person at 50 or older, or with a registered disability, receives 180. The range runs from 120 days (under one insured year) to 270 days (10+ years, age 50+). The calculator is deliberately about the amount only. Whether you can claim at all is a separate test: you generally need at least 180 insured days in the 18 months before leaving, and you must have left involuntarily — a layoff, a contract ending, or a voluntary resignation for a reason the law accepts. Quitting for personal convenience or being dismissed for serious misconduct usually disqualifies you. 구직급여 itself is tax-free, which is why the result is not reduced for income tax the way take-home pay or severance is. Use this to sanity-check a number before you file, then confirm the exact figure with the official 고용보험 mock calculation, which also applies rules this estimate leaves out — such as reduced payments for repeat claimants.

How to use

Enter your average monthly pay for the last three months, before tax. The tool divides it by 30 to get your average daily wage (1일 평균임금).
Enter your age at the time you left. Being 50 or older moves you to the longer benefit-day schedule.
Pick your insured period — how long you paid employment insurance. Along with your age, this sets your benefit days (소정급여일수).
Set your contracted daily hours (default 8). This only affects the floor of the daily benefit, not the cap.
Tick the 50+/disability box if it applies — it uses the longer schedule regardless of the age you typed.
Read the three result cards — daily benefit, benefit days, and estimated total — then use Copy to save the breakdown.

FAQ

How is the daily benefit (1일 구직급여액) calculated?: It is 60% of your average daily wage — your recent monthly pay divided by 30. That figure is then capped at 68,100 KRW per day (2026) and cannot fall below a floor of minimum wage × 80% × your contracted daily hours, which is 66,048 KRW for an 8-hour day. So in 2026 a full-time claimant's daily benefit sits between 66,048 and 68,100 KRW.
How many days can I receive it (소정급여일수)?: Between 120 and 270 days, set by your age when you left and your insured period. Under 50 it runs 120 / 150 / 180 / 210 / 240 days for insured periods of under 1, 1–3, 3–5, 5–10 and 10+ years. At 50+ or with a disability it runs 120 / 180 / 210 / 240 / 270.
Who is eligible for unemployment benefit?: You generally need at least 180 insured days in the 18 months before leaving, you must have left involuntarily (layoff, contract end, or a justified voluntary reason), and you must be able and actively looking for work. This calculator estimates the amount only and does not judge eligibility.
Can I get it if I quit voluntarily?: Usually not — quitting for personal convenience disqualifies you. But some voluntary resignations count as justified, such as leaving after unpaid wages, workplace harassment, a long commute caused by a relocation, or health reasons documented by a doctor. The employment center decides based on your separation code.
How do I actually apply?: Register as a job seeker on WorkNet, complete the online eligibility course, then visit your local employment center to file your claim. After that you report your job-search activity at each unemployment recognition date (about every four weeks) to keep the payments coming.
Is the amount here final, and is it taxed?: It is an estimate. 구직급여 is tax-free, so no income tax is deducted, but the official calculation may differ — for example, repeat claimants can have their benefit reduced, and your exact average wage uses actual calendar days rather than a flat 30. Confirm with the 고용보험 mock calculation before filing.
What happens to my remaining benefit if I find a job early?: You may get part of it back as the early re-employment allowance (조기재취업수당). If you take a new job — or start a business — with at least half of your benefit days still remaining, and then stay in it for 12 or more months, you receive half of the 구직급여 that was left as of the day before you started, paid as a lump sum. The sooner you re-employ, the more days remain and the larger the allowance, so it often beats drawing benefits to the very end.
Does the amount drop if I claim unemployment benefit repeatedly?: Yes. If this is your third or later claim within the past five years, it is reduced by the number of times — 10% on the 3rd, 25% on the 4th, 40% on the 5th, and up to 50% from the 6th (in force since March 2025) — and the waiting period before benefits begin can stretch to four weeks. This calculator shows the base amount before any reduction, so a repeat claimant's actual payout is lower than the figure shown here.
Does this tool upload my data?: No. Everything runs right in your browser, so your data never leaves your device — it even works offline once the page has loaded.