Getting money back when you leave Korea: pension refund and tax

If you worked in Korea, some of your pay went to the National Pension and to income tax. Depending on your nationality and how you were paid, you may be able to get part of it back. It can be a few hundred thousand won or more, so it’s worth an hour of paperwork before you fly home.

National Pension refund (반환일시금)

Working holiday makers on the H-1 visa must pay into the National Pension: 4.75% of your pay, with your employer adding the same again. See pay and your rights at work for what else comes off your payslip.

When you leave Korea, you can claim it back as a lump-sum refund, but only if your nationality qualifies. Korea pays it to citizens of countries that have a social security agreement with Korea covering refunds, or that give Koreans the same deal.

Can you get it back?

For working holiday nationalities, the National Pension Service list looks like this:

Usually yes	Usually no
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Poland	Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden (their agreements don’t include refunds)
	Not on the refund list: Chile, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Taiwan, the United Kingdom

The list changes when new agreements are signed. Check your own nationality with the National Pension Service on 1355 (press the option for English) before you rely on it.

If your country isn’t on the list, the money isn’t lost for good. Under some agreements your Korean contributions can count towards a pension at home later. Ask 1355 or your home country’s pension office.

How much?

You get back both your share and your employer’s share, plus interest. As a rough guide, that’s about 9.5% of the wages pension was taken from.

How to claim

Option A: collect cash at Incheon Airport (most popular)

1. Within a month of your flight, visit any National Pension Service office (not the airport one). Bring your passport, ARC, flight ticket and a Korean bank account document (bankbook copy).
2. You’ll get a Certificate of Application Acceptance. Keep it safe.
3. On your departure day, go to the NPS desk at Incheon Airport Terminal 1, 1st floor, booths 7–8 (9am–6pm), even if you fly from Terminal 2. Show your passport and the certificate, then collect the cash from the Woori Bank counter.

Airport cash is paid in foreign currency only (USD, EUR, JPY and others, not won). It isn’t available on weekends, public holidays or the last working day of December, and there are limits for late flights. Give a backup bank account in case.

Option B: paid to a bank account Apply at an NPS office before you leave and have it paid to your Korean account or an overseas account.

Option C: after you’ve left You can apply by post or through someone you authorise in Korea. This needs translated and notarised documents (and sometimes an Apostille), so it’s much more work than doing it before you leave.

Deadline: within 5 years of becoming entitled to it. But don’t wait. It’s easiest while you still have your ARC and a Korean bank account.

Income tax

How this works depends on how your employer paid you.

If you were a normal employee

Tax is taken from each payslip. When you leave a job, your employer should do a mid-year tax settlement (중도퇴사 연말정산) in your last pay.

• Ask for your withholding receipt (원천징수영수증, wonchon jingsu yeongsujeung). It’s your proof of what you earned and what was taken.
• On typical part-time pay, the tax is small, and often zero.
• If you think too much was taken, you can claim the difference by filing a return. Normally that’s in May for the previous year, on Hometax (hometax.go.kr, English available).

If you were paid as a “freelancer” (3.3%)

Many cafés and restaurants take 3.3% and call you a freelancer (프리랜서). That 3.3% is a prepayment, not the final tax. If your total income was low, you often get most or all of it back by filing a return.

• The normal filing time is May for the previous year.
• Leaving Korea for good? Korean law asks people who move abroad to file for that year before they leave, instead of waiting until May. Ask your employer for a statement of what they paid and withheld, then file on Hometax or at a tax office before your flight.

Not sure? Call the National Tax Service on 126, or 1588-0560 for help in English.

Don’t forget

• Final wages and severance pay: your employer must pay everything within 14 days of your last day. See our leaving Korea checklist.
• Health insurance: if you paid National Health Insurance yourself (as a regional subscriber), make sure your departure is recorded so the bills stop. Any overpayment can be refunded to your bank account.
• Keep your Korean bank account open until every refund has arrived, then close it.

Quick checklist (start a month before you fly)

• Check whether your nationality gets the pension refund (call 1355)
• Visit an NPS office with your passport, ARC, ticket and bankbook
• Get your withholding receipt (원천징수영수증) from each employer
• 3.3% freelancer? File your tax return before you leave
• Collect your pension cash at Incheon T1, 1st floor, booths 7–8

Sources

• National Pension Service – Lump-sum refund for foreigners
• National Pension Service – Refund eligibility by country (Korean)
• National Pension Service – Eligibility by visa type (PDF)
• National Tax Service – Hometax (English)