Up KRW 636 (5.2%) from KRW 12,121 in 2026 and KRW 2,057 higher than the 2027 minimum wage
Applies to approximately 14,000 workers, including employed of SMG, its investment and funded institutions and their subsidiaries, and participants in the Seoul New Deal Job Project
The city finalized the living wage after comprehensively considering inflation, household spending burdens, and its fiscal conditions
The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) announced on Thursday, September 10, that it has set the 2027 living wage at KRW 12,757 per hour. This represents a 5.2% increase, or KRW 636, from the 2026 living wage of KRW 12,121, well above the increases in the 2–3% range recorded over the past three
years. The monthly living wage is KRW 2,666,213, based on 40-hour workweek and 209 hours per month.
As a result, Seoul’s living wage for next year will be KRW 2,057 higher than the 2027 national minimum wage of KRW 10,700, which was announced by the government in August. This is 119.2% of the minimum wage, above the government’s wage benchmark of approximately 118%.
*Living wage increases: 2.5% (2024) → 3.0% (2025) → 2.9% (2026) → 5.2% (2027)
*National minimum wage: KRW 10,320 (2026) → KRW 10,700 (2027, up 3.7%)
The finalized living wage will be effective for one year beginning January 1, 2027. This policy will apply to approximately 14,000 workers, including workers directly employed by SMG and its investment and funded institutions, employees of subsidiaries of SMG investment institutions, workers at
private contractors fully funded by the city, and participants in the Seoul New Deal Project.
On Thursday, September 3, SMG’s Living Wage Committee, which consists of worker and employer representatives and experts, reviewed the proposed rate. Seoul finalized the 2027 living wage after considering household consumption expenditures, inflation, and the city’s fiscal conditions.