Workforce Mobility & Immigration in South Korea

D-8 corporate investor, D-7 intra-company transferee, and E-7 skilled professional visa coordination for foreign staff.

South Korea Reviewed September 2026

Currency

KRW (Korean won)

Free movement

Not applicable — work permit generally required for all nationalities

Main non-EU route

D-8 corporate investor visa (min. KRW 100 million investment

Registration deadline

Typically within 1–2 weeks of arrival

Housing — single employee

~KRW 1,500,000–2,500,000/month rent (wolse) in central/premium districts, typically with a KRW 10–100 million deposit; jeonse (large lump-sum deposit, no monthly rent) is the alternative system, with deposits for a typical apartment ranging KRW 100–400 million

Housing — family of four

~KRW 2,000,000+/month for a family-sized apartment in premium Gangnam-area districts (Apgujeong-dong, Cheongdam-dong); city-wide average rent for a standard apartment passed KRW 1,500,000/month in March 2026

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Moving workforce into South Korea

South Korea's corporate income tax is progressive across four brackets, raised for fiscal years beginning on or after 1 January 2026: 10% up to KRW 200 million, 20% up to KRW 20 billion, 22% up to KRW 300 billion, and 25% above that, with a further 10% local income tax surcharge on the national tax lifting the effective top rate to 27.5%. VAT is a flat 10% with no reduced rates. Employers also administer four mandatory social insurances — National Pension, National Health Insurance (with a linked long-term care premium), Employment Insurance and Workers' Compensation Insurance — each with its own base, cap and cost-sharing structure.

Discuss your South Korea relocation plan

South Korea is not an EU/EEA member

D-8 corporate investor visa (min. KRW 100 million investment, ≥10% voting shares) for founder-investors; D-7 intra-company transferee for staff moved from a foreign HQ with 1+ year of experience there; E-7 skilled professional for employer-sponsored specialist hires — none of the three is subject to a general labour market quota

Confirm the right route for a hire

What sits with the company

Once the right to work is confirmed, payroll registration follows — see our Payroll & Workforce Management in South Korea guide for the employer registration steps that come next.

Set up a relocation process

What it costs to house a relocating employee

Figures below are indicative for Seoul, South Korea's primary market for relocating employees — a company relocating multiple staff should budget by destination city, not a single national number.

Item	Single employee	Family of four
Typical apartment	1-bedroom	3-bedroom
Rent (Seoul)	~KRW 1,500,000–2,500,000/month rent (wolse) in central/premium districts, typically with a KRW 10–100 million deposit; jeonse (large lump-sum deposit, no monthly rent) is the alternative system, with deposits for a typical apartment ranging KRW 100–400 million	~KRW 2,000,000+/month for a family-sized apartment in premium Gangnam-area districts (Apgujeong-dong, Cheongdam-dong); city-wide average rent for a standard apartment passed KRW 1,500,000/month in March 2026
Security deposit	Wolse (monthly-rent system): typically KRW 10–100 million deposit; jeonse (deposit-only system): typically KRW 100–400+ million with no monthly rent — most foreign renters need a Korean guarantor for a direct landlord lease	Wolse (monthly-rent system): typically KRW 10–100 million deposit; jeonse (deposit-only system): typically KRW 100–400+ million with no monthly rent — most foreign renters need a Korean guarantor for a direct landlord lease

Get a city-specific relocation estimate

Frequently asked questions

What is yeonmal jeongsan and who is responsible for it?

Yeonmal jeongsan (연말정산) is Korea's mandatory year-end tax settlement. The employer, not the employee, calculates each employee's actual annual income tax liability, reconciles it against amounts withheld monthly throughout the year, and submits the finalized settlement to the National Tax Service by the end of February following the tax year. Overpayment is refunded to the employee, typically in the February paycheck; underpayment is deducted.

What are Korea's four major social insurances and their 2026 rates?

National Pension (4.75% employer, split equally with the employee, the first step of a phased rise to 13.0% by 2033), National Health Insurance (3.595% employer, split equally, plus a long-term care premium set at 13.14% of the health premium), Employment Insurance (0.9% employer of 1.8% total), and Workers' Compensation Insurance (0.6%–18.5%, employer-only, rated by industry risk).

Is there a minimum capital requirement to incorporate in South Korea?

The Commercial Code does not set a statutory minimum for either a Chusik Hoesa or a Yuhan Hoesa. In practice, KRW 100 million is the commonly used benchmark for foreign direct investment registration and is the minimum investment required for a D-8 corporate investor visa, but it is not a legal precondition to incorporation itself.

Which visa applies to a foreign investor versus an intra-company transfer?

The D-8 corporate investor visa applies to a foreign national investing at least KRW 100 million into a Korean corporation and holding at least 10% of voting shares. The D-7 intra-company transferee visa applies when a foreign headquarters sends staff with at least one year of prior experience to a Korean branch. The E-7 skilled professional visa is the employer-sponsored route for hires without an investment or intra-company link.

Talk to a South Korea mobility expert

The year-end settlement is the single most consequential recurring obligation for any employer of record in Korea, precisely because it sits on the employer's calendar rather than the employee's. It should be built into the payroll cycle as a hard end-February deadline, with deduction documentation collection starting well before January, not treated as a year-end formality.

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