Most “doing business in Korea” guides tell you about bowing, business cards, and hierarchy. Useful once — but they don’t answer the questions that actually decide whether your move works: What does it cost to hire someone? What’s my real corporate tax rate? How much of a salary actually lands in the bank? Can I get my pension back when I leave?
Korea Insider Pro answers those in numbers, not vibes — every figure checked against the primary source (National Tax Service, National Pension Service, Ministry of Justice) with the date we verified it, and paired with a free calculator so you can run your own case. This page is the map. Start here, then dive into the full guide (and calculator) for whatever you’re deciding.
Setting up: company, branch, or no entity at all
Your first fork: register a Korean company, or hire/operate without one. A local corporation gives you full control but carries setup, capital, and bookkeeping costs; an Employer of Record (EOR) lets you hire in Korea with no entity — cheaper until roughly five employees, after which your own company usually wins.
→ Full guides: Start a Business in Korea · Register an LLC · Hire without a company (EOR)
→ Calculator: EOR vs. own entity
What it really costs to hire someone
Gross salary is only the start. A Korean employer adds about 11%+ in four mandatory insurances, plus accrued severance (roughly one month’s pay per year of service). So a ₩4,000,000/month hire costs closer to ₩4.9–5.0 million all-in.
→ Full guides: The true monthly cost of hiring · The 4 mandatory insurances
→ Calculator: Hiring cost
Payroll & take-home pay
From the employee’s side: gross salary is cut by the four insurances and income tax (plus local tax) — typically 10–15% for a single earner. Foreign workers can elect a 19% flat tax instead of the progressive rate. The calculator shows the exact net for any salary.
→ Full guide: Korea take-home pay
→ Calculator: Take-home pay
Corporate tax
Korea taxes corporate income on a progressive scale (lowest bracket on the first ₩200 million of income, rising for higher income), plus a 10% local income surtax. Foreign-owned Korean companies pay the same rates as domestic ones.
→ Full guide: Korea corporate tax for foreign founders
→ Calculator: Corporate tax
Paying yourself: salary vs. dividend
If you own the company, how you pay yourself changes your tax bill. Salary is deductible for the company but triggers income tax and insurances; dividends come from after-tax profit (taxed twice) but carry no insurance. There’s usually an optimal mix.
→ Calculator: Salary vs. dividend optimizer (full guide coming soon)
Severance pay
An employee with at least one year of service is owed severance of about 30 days’ average wage per year worked — on top of salary. It applies to eligible foreign employees too, and it’s a cost employers routinely forget to budget.
→ Full guide: Korea severance pay rules
→ Calculator: Severance pay
VAT
Korea’s standard VAT is 10% on most goods and services. Foreign businesses selling in Korea generally must register, charge 10%, and file — with zero-rating and refunds available in specific cases.
→ Full guide: Korea VAT for foreign businesses
Visas: D-8 (founder) and F-2-7 (residence)
To run a business or settle long-term, the visa is the gate. The D-8 is the founder/investor route; the F-2-7 is a points-based residence visa where you generally need 80 points across age, income, education, and Korean ability.
→ Full guides: D-8 founder visa · F-2-7 points explained
→ Calculator: F-2-7 points
National pension: rates and getting it back
Both you and your employer pay into the national pension. The good news for many foreigners: when you permanently leave Korea, you can often reclaim your contributions as a lump-sum refund — if your home country has a social-security agreement with Korea (or grants Koreans the same right).
→ Full guide: National pension for foreigners: exemptions & refunds
→ Calculator: Pension refund
Year-end tax settlement
Korea’s year-end tax settlement (연말정산) reconciles the tax withheld from your salary against what you actually owe — often producing a refund. Foreign employees have specific rules, including the 19% flat-tax election.
→ Full guide: Year-end tax settlement for foreign employees
Banking
You’ll need a Korean bank account to run payroll, pay suppliers, and get paid. Foreigners can open one, though requirements vary by bank and visa status.
→ Full guide: How foreigners open bank accounts in Korea
All the calculators in one place
Every number above has a free calculator. Browse them at the Korea Insider Index — hiring cost, take-home pay, corporate tax, severance, pension refund, F-2-7 points, EOR vs. entity, and salary vs. dividend.
Stay updated
Rates change every year. We track the numbers — and tell you what moved — so your plans stay based on today’s figures, not last year’s. No spam, just the updates that matter.