Episode 3: What to Check in a Korean Employment Contract

Korean employment contract checklist: Read the current written draft from the employer block to the signatures. Record 16 exact fields, use 20 Korean questions when a label is blank or unclear, and leave with the same complete signed copy.

Korean employment contract checklist: Episode 2 compared the job offer with supporting evidence. This episode reads the written contract field by field; the earlier Korea Life episode remains a shorter phrase guide for asking general contract questions.

What you will accomplish

Finish with an annotated contract map, every essential blank completed, verbal promises either written or rejected, both signatures and date visible, and a complete copy saved before work starts.

Preview and download the official contract files

These are official originals, not BSKorean-made templates. Use the PDF to preview the foreign-worker form in your browser and the HWP when you need the MOEL 2025 general form for editing or printing.

1. Preview
   Open PDF preview
2. Download the official originals
   Download official HWP · Download official PDF
3. Open the source pages
   MOEL 2025 revised standard employment contract — HWP · Official Standard Labor Contract for foreign workers — PDF

MOEL 2025 revised standard employment contract — HWP

The Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor’s 2025 general standard contract file. HWP normally downloads instead of opening in the browser.

HWP · 69120 bytes · SHA-256 8acbe67ba95fd53432b80cbdbc82e9cb118534775ada58b832437eae2b4ea99c

Official Standard Labor Contract for foreign workers — PDF

The bilingual statutory form under the foreign-worker employment rules. Preview it first, then download the identical file.

PDF · 444541 bytes · SHA-256 966c4e3155a2bb294ca5b07efff2c09a88d07771a41638ef32a7beccbbe689b2

Official file bytes and SHA-256 checked on 25 August 2026. Recheck the source page for a newer revision before using the file.

Read the official form page by page

The two images below are unaltered 180-DPI renders of the official PDF. Select an image to open the full PDF preview.

Before you read or sign the contract

• Obtain the full draft early enough to read without pressure
• Keep episode 2’s offer sheet beside the draft
• Open the current MOEL standard contract and the applicable foreign-worker form
• Prepare a pen, calculator, calendar, and translation support
• Write the legal employer name and workplace from official records
• List every verbal promise that must appear in writing
• Plan to photograph or scan every page after both parties sign

Korean employment contract checklist: Read the document as a field-by-field record

Korean employment contract checklist: Keep the original draft visible. Read the employer and worker identity first, then the numbered conditions, the accommodation section, special clauses, date, signatures, and your delivered copy. Do not let a verbal explanation silently fill a blank field.

Use this six-pass contract reading method

1. Step 1. Match the employer and worker identity blocks with official records
2. Step 2. Read the contract term, probation, workplace, and duties together
3. Step 3. Rebuild one normal week from start, finish, break, workdays, and weekly holiday
4. Step 4. Separate wage unit, basic pay, bonus, allowances, payday, payment method, and any stated costs
5. Step 5. Read insurance, leave, accommodation, meals, special clauses, and every correction
6. Step 6. Confirm the date, both signatures, no essential blanks, and delivery of the same complete copy

Complete this 16-field contract audit

Copy what the contract actually says, not what someone remembers promising. Mark every blank, mismatch, or unexplained correction as unresolved until it is completed in the same signed version.

20 Korean questions for reading the contract itself

Use the learner-friendly reading first and RR as a standard romanization reference. Both are approximations; listen to Korean audio or a Korean speaker when possible.

20 essential words for this step

Replies you may hear

• 빈칸은 나중에 작성할게요. — We will fill in the blanks later.
• 수습기간은 입국일부터 세 달이에요. — Probation is three months from arrival.
• 숙소비는 매달 월급에서 공제해요. — The accommodation cost is deducted monthly from wages.
• 근무지는 상황에 따라 바뀔 수 있어요. — The workplace may change depending on circumstances.
• 수정한 부분 옆에 서명해 주세요. — Please sign beside the correction.
• 계약서 사본은 지금 드릴게요. — We will give you the contract copy now.

Two short dialogues to practise

Dialogue 1

근로자: 계약서에는 근무지가 인천으로 적혀 있어요.

담당자: 처음에는 경기도에서 일할 수도 있어요.

근로자: 실제 근무지를 확인해서 계약서에 정확히 적어 주세요.

Worker: The contract says the workplace is Incheon. / Manager: You may work in Gyeonggi Province at first. / Worker: Please confirm the actual workplace and write it accurately in the contract.

Dialogue 2

근로자: 숙소비 금액이 빈칸이에요.

담당자: 한 달에 이십만 원이에요.

근로자: 금액과 공제 방법을 적은 뒤에 함께 확인해 주세요.

Worker: The accommodation-cost field is blank. / Manager: It is 200,000 won per month. / Worker: Please write the amount and deduction method, then check it with me.

Keep one complete contract evidence folder

• Every page of the unsigned draft with received date
• Episode 2 offer sheet beside the contract audit
• Employer identity evidence and actual workplace address
• A one-week schedule reconstructed from written times and days
• Wage calculation sheet separating basic pay, bonus, allowances, overtime, and costs
• Accommodation and meal information with exact monthly cost and payment method
• Every revised page with who changed it, when, and why
• Final complete signed copy, delivery date, photographs, and secure backup

Copyable Korean request for a complete contract draft

안녕하세요. 서명하기 전에 근로계약서 전체를 확인하고 싶습니다. 사업체명과 사업자등록번호, 근로계약기간과 수습기간, 실제 근무 장소, 구체적인 업무, 근무일과 주휴일, 시작·종료·휴게시간, 기본급·상여금·수당, 지급일과 지급 방법, 사회보험, 숙소와 식사 제공 여부 및 비용이 모두 적힌 앞뒷면 전체 초안을 보내 주세요. 빈칸과 수정 사항을 함께 확인한 뒤, 양쪽이 서명한 같은 계약서 사본을 부탁드립니다.

Hello. I would like to review the complete employment contract before signing. Please send the full front and back draft showing the enterprise name and registration number, contract and probation periods, actual workplace, specific duties, workdays and weekly holiday, start, finish and break times, basic pay, bonus and allowances, payday and payment method, social insurance, and whether accommodation and meals are provided and at what cost. After we check every blank and correction, please give me the same copy signed by both parties.

Stop before signing when you see these contract problems

• The legal employer name or registration number is blank or different
• The workplace or duties are broader, different, or left to verbal explanation
• Start, finish, break, workdays, or weekly holiday is blank
• Pay is one total with no unit, basic amount, allowance names, or payday
• Accommodation or meal costs are described only after the wage figure
• A clause allows any workplace, duty, schedule, or deduction without a defined process
• Corrections appear after you read it but are not acknowledged by both parties
• You are told to sign only one copy, a blank page, or a version you cannot keep

Episode 3 completion checklist

• Employer and worker identity blocks match official records
• Contract dates and probation period are complete
• Workplace and duties match the accepted offer
• One normal week can be rebuilt from written hours, breaks, days, and weekly holiday
• Wage unit, basic amount, bonus, and each allowance are separate
• Payday and payment method are written
• Insurance and annual-leave entries are visible
• Accommodation and meal provision and costs are explicit
• No essential blank remains and every correction is acknowledged
• Special clauses do not silently replace the numbered fields
• Date and both signatures are on the same final version
• I received and securely saved the complete signed copy before starting

Information and official links checked on 25 August 2026. Forms, procedures, eligibility, and legal rules can change. This document-reading guide is not individual legal or immigration advice; confirm your own case with the responsible official service before acting.

Prepared by the BSKorean Editorial Team. Korean expressions were reviewed for polite workplace use; legal and administrative facts are limited to the official sources below.

Official sources checked

• MOEL: 2025 revised standard employment contract forms
• MOEL: Standard employment contract writing guide
• Korean Law Information Center: Labor Standards Act Article 17
• Korean Law Information Center: Standard Labor Contract for foreign workers
• EPS: Foreign-worker employment contract process and required contents

Practise before the real conversation

Open a blank standard contract and point to each Korean label while saying it aloud. Then replace the sample dates, hours, amounts, workplace, and accommodation cost with the exact entries in your draft.

Practise Korean vocabulary and listening in the BSKorean app →

View all 30 episodes