![[2026 Updated] Foreign Worker Severance Pay (EPS) Claim Guide](/link/news/images/guide_severance_hero_v2.webp)
Understanding Departure Guarantee Insurance (Severance Pay)
Under the Korean Labor Standard Act, any worker who has worked continuously for more than 1 year at the same workplace is entitled to Severance Pay. For E-9 foreign workers under the EPS system, this is managed securely through the Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (Departure Guarantee Insurance).
Critical Fact: Can Undocumented Immigrants Claim Severance Pay?
YES. Your immigration status does not affect your labor rights. Even if you are an undocumented immigrant (불법체류자), if you have worked for more than 1 year, your employer is legally obligated to pay your severance pay. The Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor strictly enforces this rule.
How to Claim Your EPS Severance Pay (2026 Rules)
For EPS (E-9) workers, the severance pay accumulated in Samsung Fire Insurance cannot be claimed in cash while you are still staying in Korea. It is specifically designed to be given to you upon your departure from South Korea.
You have four official methods to receive the money when leaving:
- Remittance-only Korean account (Kookmin, Shinhan, KEB Hana, Woori). You must visit the bank in person to register it as your foreign-exchange bank.
- Ordinary Korean account. Some banks ask for extra documents.
- Your home-country account. Must be an account in your own country, and the SWIFT code is required.
- Cash at the airport. Incheon: KEB Hana, Woori, Kookmin. Gimhae: Busan Bank.
If you choose a bank account, the money is sent after the Ministry of Justice confirms you have actually left Korea.
Which payout method should I choose?
A bank account is the safer choice. You are not carrying a large amount of cash through an airport, and the transfer is made once your departure is confirmed. Airport pickup gives you the money before boarding, but you take on the risk of carrying it — and it has a hard time limit.
⚠️ At Incheon, the exchange counters only handle this between 07:30 and 01:59, and you must arrive 4 hours before your flight. If you are on an early-morning flight, choose a bank account instead.
Steps to Apply
- One month before departure — report your planned departure to the Employment Center.
- At least 7 days before departure — apply to Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance for payment. Fax: 0505-161-1421 (from overseas 82-505-161-1421).
- If the insurance total is less than your legal severance pay, your employer must pay the difference — see How Much Am I Owed? below.
Always calculate your estimated severance pay using the Kori Care Severance Calculator to ensure your employer pays you the exact legal amount.
How Much Am I Owed?
The formula is fixed by law: 30 days of your average wage for every year you worked (Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act, Art. 8).
"Average wage" is not your base salary. It is your total pay over your last 3 months divided by the days in that period — which means overtime, night-shift and holiday allowances are included. Your real figure is often higher than you expect.
If you earned around ₩2,500,000 a month:
| Time worked | Roughly what you're owed |
|---|---|
| 1 year | ≈ ₩2,500,000 |
| 2 years | ≈ ₩5,000,000 |
| 3 years | ≈ ₩7,500,000 |
| 4 years 10 months | ≈ ₩12,000,000 |
These are examples only — your own wage and dates decide the real number. Work out your own figure with the Kori Care Severance Calculator. It takes about a minute, it's free, and nobody is notified.
For E-9 workers: the insurance is often not the full amount
This is the part most people miss. The Departure Guarantee Insurance is not automatically the same as your legal severance pay. The insurance premiums your employer paid may add up to less than what the law says you are owed.
Legal severance pay − insurance payout = the difference your employer must pay you directly.
So calculate your legal figure first, then compare it with what Samsung Fire tells you. If the insurance amount is lower, the gap is still your money.
Two Things People Get Wrong
Under 1 year at that employer = ₩0. The date you started matters more than you think.
⚠️ Watch the 11-month mark. Some employers end a contract just before the one-year point, or split one job into shorter contracts, so that no 1-year record exists. This does not always work. Korean courts add repeated contracts together — if you really kept working, the periods count as one. What decides it is proof that you actually worked those days, so keep your own record of dates and hours.
Severance is counted per employer. If you changed workplaces, each one is judged separately — so you may be owed by more than one former employer, and one short job does not cancel out a long one.
The Deadlines
| 14 days | Your employer must pay after your last working day (Art. 9). Separate from the insurance payout on departure. |
| 3 years | You can claim after leaving the job (Art. 10) — including from outside Korea. |
| Late payment | 20% annual interest on overdue amounts, claimed through civil proceedings. |
If You Were Not Paid
Start with the free routes.
- 1577-0071 — Foreign Workforce Counselling Centre. 18 languages including Vietnamese and Thai, open every day 09:00 to 18:00.
- 1350 — the Ministry of Employment and Labor's counselling line. English and Chinese only, weekdays.
- Your local labor office — file a report (진정) at no cost.
- Korea Legal Aid Corporation — free legal representation if you earned under about ₩4,000,000 a month.
Since 6 November 2025, when a labor inspector investigates unpaid wages, they do not report you to immigration. (This does not make your stay legal, and it does not cover being stopped in any other way.)
When delegating makes sense. The free routes cost nothing in money, but you make the calls in Korean, attend the labor office yourself, and handle the paperwork. If you have already left Korea, that is rarely possible. In that case you can sign a power of attorney and have a licensed Korean labor attorney (노무사) act for you — from your home country, without facing your former employer. There is a cost, and it differs by office.
Next Step
Find out what you are owed before you decide anything. Check your figure with the free Kori Care Severance Calculator — one minute, no sign-up.
Not sure which route fits your case? Message Kori Care in your own language. We will tell you which one fits, even if it isn't us.
Korean words you will hear
These are the words that appear on your contract, your pay slip, and at the labor office. Each card shows the Korean word, how to say it, and what it means. You can show a card at the counter.
