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Prohibition against Discrimination

An employer must not discriminate against a foreign worker on the basis of his/her status as a foreign worker (Article 22 of the Act on the Employment, Etc. of Foreign Workers).

Employment Contract in Standard Employment Contract Form

An employer who intends to employ a foreign worker must enter into an employment contract in a standard employment contract form(Article 9 Section 1). In case of violation, such employer will be subject to an administrative fine not exceeding 5,000,000 won (Article 32 Section 1 Subsection 1 of the Act on the Employment, Etc. of Foreign Workers).

Payment of Wages Made Directly in Full on a Regular Basis

Payment of wages shall be directly made in full to workers in currency at least once per month on a fixed day on a regular basis(Article 43). If this is violated, such employer will be subject to imprisonment with labor for not more than 3 years or by a fine of not exceeding 30,000,000 won. In this case, a public prosecution against such employer may not be raised against the clearly expressed will of the person who has suffered the loss concerned(Article 109 of the Labor Standard Act).

Payment of Wages Subject to Minimum Wages

It is not necessarily required for range of wages applicable to foreign workers to be equivalent to one applicable to national personnel. Such range of wages for foreign workers can vary by their work experience and productivity.

An employer shall pay foreign workers at least the minimum wage amount or more and shall not lower the previous wage level on the ground of the minimum wage (Article 6 of the Minimum Wage Act).

Work Hours and Extended Work, etc.

Work hours shall not exceed 8 hours a day(Article 50) , 40 hours a week, excluding hours of recess (for an employer who ordinarily employs less than 20 workers, 44 hours a week is allowed). Such work hours may be extended up to 12 hours per week if agreed between the parties (Article 53 Section 1 of the Labor Standard Act).

An employer shall, in addition to the ordinary wages, pay the following amount or more for extended work, etc. (Article 56 of the Labor Standard Act).