In South Korea (Republic of Korea), the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work Family Balance Assistance Act requires employers with 500 or more employees (or 300+ if also subject to the Monopoly Regulation and Fair-Trade Act’s disclosure requirements) to assess their workforce’s gender balance. This assessment checks if the proportion of women employees aligns with acceptable benchmarks. If an employer’s female workforce falls below the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s standards for their industry and company size, they must create and submit an “implementation plan.” This plan includes measures to improve gender balance and mandates pay gap reporting.
South Korea (Republic of Korea) Gender Pay Gap Reporting: What You Need to Know
LAST MODIFIED: January 10, 2025
At a glance
Who:
Employers with 500+
What:
Wage Registry
When:
Annually, 30 April
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2025 gender pay gap reporting requirements in South Korea
When is South Korea’s gender pay gap report due?
The pay gap report in South Korea is due by 30 April.
Who needs to report on pay gaps in South Korea?
In South Korea, employers with 500+ employees (directly employed workers) must undertake active measures (affirmative action) designed to expand women’s employment, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity and Work Family Balance Assistance Act. Employers that are obliged to provide disclosure in accordance with Article 14 of Monopoly Regulation and Fair-Trade Act with 300+ employees may also be required to report.
Only covered employers whose percentage of female employees falls below standards set by the Ministry of Employment and Labor for that industry and company size are required to create and submit an“implementation plan”, which requires, among other things, reporting pay gaps.
What pay gap metrics do I need to report in South Korea?
The South Korean law requires that employers who are required to create an implementation plan report gender-disaggregated pay information. Syndio provides Global Pay Reports customers with detailed guidance on which pay components to include in the report.
Where do I need to share the South Korea pay gap report?
Companies in South Korea submit wage data through the government website and the government can monitor the submission through the site.
Syndio’s Global Pay Reports help you centralize and automate reporting for 48 jurisdictions across 43 countries, including South Korea. Our software makes reporting easy, fast, and accurate so you can report with confidence, even as requirements change. And our services team can answer all your detailed questions — we’re experts so you don’t have to be.
Request a demo of Syndio's Global Pay Reports software.
Employers in South Korea and the EU Pay Transparency Directive
South Korea’s pay gap laws will not be directly impacted by the EU Pay Transparency Directive. Only the 27 Member States of the European Union are required to adopt the Directive.
That said, the EU Pay Transparency Directive will impact employers headquartered in South Korea if they have employees in any EU Member State. Many of the Directive’s pay equity and pay transparency obligations will apply to employers with employees in the EU. Some obligations, like pay gap reporting, apply to larger employers — in many Member States, reporting applies to employers with 100+ employees, though this threshold may be lowered in some countries.
There’s also a growing trend of countries learning from and adopting elements of pay gap reporting laws from around the world so the EU Pay Transparency Directive may be a roadmap for future developments in South Korea.
Syndio has you covered as pay equity, pay reporting, and pay transparency demands grow with the EU Pay Transparency Directive. Learn more ->
How Syndio helps with global pay equity, pay reporting, and pay transparency
Syndio provides the technology and expert partnership you need to comply with the growing pay equity, pay reporting, and pay transparency demands around the globe.
- Report your pay data and pay gaps — with Syndio’s Global Pay Reports. Our software supports fast, easy, and accurate compliance with pay reporting in 48 jurisdictions across 43 countries, including South Korea and for the EU Pay Transparency Directive. Syndio also supports the EU’s CSRD reporting.
- Identify, explain, and fix pay gaps — with Syndio’s PayEQ and OppEQ. Our suite of solutions give you the tools and legally compliant methodologies to analyze, explain, and make progress to close pay and career advancement gaps.
- Keep your pay gaps closed — with Syndio’s Pay Finder. On-demand pay recommendations help managers and recruiters make equitable, explainable pay decisions that don’t exacerbate pay gaps.
- Create a customized action plan — with Syndio’s EU Readiness Strategy Package. Syndio’s team of experts help you build a custom strategy and support project management. This includes a change management strategy session for senior leaders, communications strategy session on pay gap and Right to Information, and ongoing support on best practices and trends.
- Craft tailored communications strategies — with Syndio’s Communications Package. Leverage best practices to build a communications plan that builds your brand while aligning to your values and objectives.
Syndio takes data privacy and security seriously. Syndio is GDPR compliant, SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 2022 certified, and has completed the Cloud Security Alliance CAIQv.4.02 security self-assessment for STAR Level One. Learn more in our Trust Center under “Security Reports.”
FAQ: The most asked questions about South Korea’s gender pay gap reporting
Syndio helps customers all over the world with their global pay reporting needs. Here are some common questions we get about the reporting requirements under South Korea’s pay gap law.
The information provided on this resource does not and is not intended to be legal advice. All information, content, and materials are provided for general informational purposes only. The links to third-party or government websites are offered for the convenience of the reader; Syndio is not responsible for the contents on linked pages.
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