Where there is no choice of law designated in employment contracts, the law of the country in which the employee habitually carries out his work in performance of the contract is determined to be the choice of law. A choice of law made by the parties to an employment contract shall not have the result of depriving the Employee of the protection afforded to him by the mandatory rules of the law of the country in which the Employee habitually carries out his work in performance of the contract (Article 28, Private International Act).

Any conditions of an employment contract which does not meet standards as provided in the Labor Standards Act are void(Article 22).

  Term of an Employment Contract

The term of an employment contract shall not exceed one year, except in case where there is no fixed term or where there is a otherwise fixed term as necessary for the completion of a certain project (Employees are classified as a Contractual Employee and a Formal Employee. The primary difference between these two employees are that the former is not guaranteed of its employment by law, on the other hand, the latter may not be dismissed without justifiable causes.) (Article 23)

The Korean Supreme Court (1994. 1. 1. Decision 93da17843) ruled that despite the fact that the term of an employment contract was fixed, if the contract had been renewed continuously, the Employee were deemed as a non-fixed term Employee, hence, Article 23 of the Labor Standards Act would apply to such an Employee. However, where there is an urgent necessity in relation to business, such as insolvency, Employers may dismiss Employees without a justifiable cause.

  Termination of an Employment Contract

Employer shall not dismiss an employee without a justifiable cause (Article 30 of the Labor Standards Act). All the decisions of the Korean Supreme Court concerning dismissal rule that only willful misconduct or willfully poor performance can constitute justifiable causes for dismissal.

When an Employer intends to dismiss Employees (including dismissal for administrative reason), Employer shall give the worker a notice of dismissal at least thirty days in advance of such dismissal and if the Employer fails to give such advance notice, Employer shall pay that Employee the ordinary wages for not less than thirty days (Article 32 of the Labor Standards Act). The exceptions of the advance notice of dismissal include a natural disaster, calamity or other unavoidable circumstances which prevent the continuance of the business concerned or where the worker concerned has, on purpose, caused a considerable hindrance to the business or inflicted any damage to property.

  Salary

The Korean Supreme Court ruled that because Employee salary shall be given directly to them in cash currency, any sum owed by Employees shall not be deducted from their salary without the Employees' consent. Employees shall give their consent by free will and their free will shall be decided strictly and sternly. An advance or loan given to Employee, on the condition that an employee offers work, is not allowed to be deducted from the salary (Article 28 of the Labor Standards Act).

  Over Time

Working time may not exceed 40 hours per week in workplaces or businesses having 100 or more ordinary employees (Article 49 of the Labor Standards Act). In workplaces or businesses having 50 or less ordinary employees, working time may not exceed 44 hours per week. The above Article 49 shall apply from July 1, 2007. This maximum working time may be extended up to twelve (12) hours per week with the consent of the Employee (Article 52 of the Labor Standards Act). For this reason, it is recommended to add employees' consents to the contract to extend their work week by twelve (12) working hours.

Overtime work consists of additional work, night work (from 10PM to 6AM) and holiday work. Regardless of what type of overtime work, overtime payment shall be a minimum of time and one half (Article 55 of the Labor Standards Act).