[Employment Contracts and the E-7 Visa in Korea ⑤] 2026 E-7 Visa Salary Requirements: How Much Should Employers Pay?
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Hello, I'm Sangjin Ji, a licensed administrative scrivener in Korea.
In July 2026, skilled workers from Mongolia entered South Korea under the E-7-3 visa for slaughterhouse workers for the first time.
The Korean government had introduced this occupation under the E-7-3 category in response to persistent labor shortages in the slaughtering industry. The new occupation subsequently led to the actual recruitment of foreign workers.
This case illustrates an important feature of the E-7 visa system.
Before hiring a foreign worker, employers must first identify the occupation and duties the employee will actually perform.
In this series, "Employment Contracts and the E-7 Visa in Korea," we examine foreign recruitment in the following sequence:
Job duties → Occupation → Employee → Employer → Contract
In Part ④, we explained why a position labeled "Overseas Sales" by a company does not automatically qualify as the E-7 occupation of overseas sales representative.
The actual job duties must be analyzed before selecting an appropriate E-7 occupation.
Once the occupation has been identified, another question arises.
How much should an employer pay a foreign worker on an E-7 visa?
The order of preparation matters.
Employers should not agree on a final salary, set a start date, sign an employment contract, and only then check the applicable immigration salary requirements.
The correct approach is to identify the salary requirement for the specific occupation before finalizing the compensation package.
To understand why, consider how the requirements changed between 2025 and 2026.
If KRW 30 Million Was Sufficient in 2025, Is It Still Sufficient in 2026?
From April through December 2025, the basic annual salary requirement for E-7-1 professional workers was KRW 28.67 million.
For an occupation without a higher, separately prescribed salary requirement, an annual salary of KRW 30 million exceeded that basic threshold.
However, the situation changed in 2026.
Under Ministry of Justice Notice No. 2025-406, the basic annual salary threshold for E-7-1 increased to KRW 31.12 million, effective February 1, 2026.
An employment contract offering KRW 30 million annually is therefore KRW 1.12 million below the 2026 basic threshold.
If an employer discovers this before making a final offer, the recruitment budget can be adjusted in advance.
But what if salary negotiations have already concluded, the hiring budget has been approved, and the start date has been confirmed?
The employer may need to reopen negotiations with the candidate.
The internal budget may require another approval.
The employment contract may need to be revised.
If visa preparation is delayed, the employee's start date and scheduled assignment to a project may also be affected.
The cost of checking E-7 salary requirements too late is not merely the salary shortfall. It is the cost of reopening a recruitment process the company believed was already complete.
That is why the applicable salary requirement should be checked before the final offer is made, not at the last stage of preparing the employment contract.
What Are the E-7 Salary Requirements for 2026?
Under Ministry of Justice Notice No. 2025-406, the basic annual salary requirements are:
- E-7-1 — Professional Workers: At least KRW 31.12 million
- E-7-2 — Semi-Professional Workers: At least KRW 25.89 million
- E-7-3 — General Skilled Workers: At least KRW 25.89 million
- E-7-4 — Skilled Workers: At least KRW 26 million
These requirements apply from February 1 through December 31, 2026. The previous requirements remained applicable through January 31, 2026.
Employers should therefore avoid applying a single figure found online to every E-7 occupation.
For example, the following statement is incomplete:
The minimum annual salary for an E-7 visa is KRW 31.12 million.
KRW 31.12 million is the 2026 basic salary threshold for E-7-1, not a universal threshold for every E-7 category.
The amount varies by subcategory.
Furthermore, the basic salary table is not always the final answer.
The Ministry of Justice notice states that where a separate salary requirement has been established for an occupation, that occupation-specific requirement applies.
The question employers must answer is therefore:
What salary requirement actually applies to the occupation for which our company intends to hire this foreign worker?
A Five-Step Framework for Reviewing E-7 Salary Requirements
Before finalizing an annual salary, employers can review the proposed employment conditions in the following order:
Occupation → Basic threshold → Occupation-specific threshold → Contractual salary → Actual payment
This is a practical employer-side review framework, not the official name of a statutory immigration assessment procedure.
1. Identify the E-7 Occupation Based on the Actual Job Duties
The first step is to analyze the work the foreign employee will actually perform.
Different occupations may fall under different E-7 subcategories and be subject to different requirements.
It is premature to ask:
Would an annual salary of KRW 30 million be sufficient?
if the employer has not even determined whether the position falls under E-7-1 or E-7-3.
As explained in Part ④, employers must examine the actual duties before identifying an appropriate immigration occupation.
Without identifying the occupation, the applicable salary requirement cannot be finalized.
2. Check the Basic Salary Requirement Applicable to the Application
Companies that have previously hired foreign employees may be tempted to reuse last year's employment contract.
However, a salary that met the requirements in the previous year may no longer be sufficient.
For example, the basic E-7-1 salary requirement was KRW 28.67 million annually from April 2025, but increased to KRW 31.12 million in February 2026.
The basic requirements for E-7-2 and E-7-3 also increased from KRW 25.15 million to KRW 25.89 million during the same comparison period.
Employers should therefore not assume:
We obtained approval with these employment conditions last year, so we can use the same contract again.
A previous employment contract is a reference document. It does not replace the salary requirements applicable to the current application.
Check the relevant Ministry of Justice notice and its effective period before proceeding.
3. Determine Whether an Occupation-Specific Salary Requirement Applies
Employers should not finalize an employment contract simply because the proposed salary exceeds the amount in the basic E-7 table.
Some occupations are subject to separate requirements.
Case Study: E-7-3 Aquaculture Technicians Have a Separate Salary Standard
In January 2026, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Ministry of Justice expanded the scope of employment available to foreign aquaculture technicians.
The relevant program had previously been limited to sea cucumber farming. Its scope was expanded on a pilot basis to include 16 aquaculture products, including olive flounder, Korean rockfish, laver, and seaweed.
Foreign aquaculture technicians under this program fall within the E-7-3 category.
Does that mean an employer can simply apply the general 2026 E-7-3 salary threshold of KRW 25.89 million?
No. A separate salary standard applies to these aquaculture technicians.
The screening criteria attached to the joint government announcement dated January 5, 2026, prescribe the following salary requirement:
At least 80% of the previous year's gross national income (GNI) per capita.
This calculation differs from the general E-7-3 basic salary threshold of KRW 25.89 million.
An employer would therefore be applying the wrong standard by assuming:
Aquaculture technicians are classified under E-7-3, so KRW 25.89 million must be sufficient.
When hiring an aquaculture technician under this program, the employer must identify the applicable GNI-linked salary requirement and structure the employment contract accordingly.
This separate rule does not mean that the 80% GNI standard applies to every E-7-3 occupation.
Even after identifying the E-7 subcategory, employers must check whether a separate occupational standard applies before determining the required salary.
4. Break Down the Company's Proposed "Annual Salary" into Its Actual Contractual Components
Once the occupation and applicable threshold have been identified, the next step is to examine the compensation package.
Suppose a company intends to offer an E-7-1 employee:
Annual salary: KRW 34 million
However, the compensation package consists of:
- Monthly guaranteed salary of KRW 2.5 million × 12 months = KRW 30 million annually
- Performance bonus of up to KRW 4 million, depending on individual evaluations and company performance
The company may describe this internally as an annual compensation package of KRW 34 million.
But can it immediately conclude that the offer satisfies the basic E-7-1 threshold of KRW 31.12 million?
Not before confirming how the performance bonus is treated under the applicable salary assessment rules.
The annual Ministry of Justice notice establishes the basic amounts for each E-7 subcategory and the principle that separate occupational standards take precedence.
However, that notice alone does not resolve the treatment of every bonus, incentive, and benefit offered by individual companies.
Employers should therefore distinguish among the components of a proposed compensation package:
- Salary that the employer is contractually committed to paying
- Performance bonuses and incentives subject to specified conditions
- Benefits and expense reimbursements
- Employer costs that are separate from wages paid to the employee
This does not mean that all bonuses or allowances are necessarily excluded.
It means employers should not rely on a compensation component to meet the immigration salary threshold before confirming whether that component can be counted.
Comparing Three Employment Offers
Assume that three companies intend to hire employees under E-7-1 for occupations without separate salary requirements.
The applicable basic threshold is KRW 31.12 million annually.
Company A: Guaranteed Monthly Salary of KRW 2.6 Million
Company A agrees to pay KRW 2.6 million per month.
The annual amount is KRW 31.2 million.
If this amount qualifies as contractual salary under the applicable requirements, it meets the basic E-7-1 threshold.
The fact that the salary exceeds the threshold by only KRW 80,000 does not, by itself, establish a separate obligation to provide an additional margin.
However, satisfying the salary threshold does not automatically mean that the applicant meets all other E-7 requirements.
Company B: KRW 30 Million in Guaranteed Salary Plus a Bonus of Up to KRW 4 Million
Company B describes its offer as a maximum annual package of KRW 34 million.
However, its guaranteed salary is KRW 30 million.
The company cannot finalize its assessment using the maximum package amount without confirming whether the performance bonus can be counted.
Company B must verify the treatment of the bonus before concluding that its offer satisfies the salary requirement.
Company C: KRW 35 Million in Total Employment Costs, Including Benefits
Company C pays a guaranteed monthly salary of KRW 2.5 million.
It also provides accommodation and other benefits, bringing the company's total annual expenditure to KRW 35 million.
However, an employer's total expenditure does not automatically equal the salary recognized for immigration purposes.
The contractual wages must be distinguished from accommodation, benefits, and other employer-paid costs.
All three examples lead to the same question:
What amount qualifies as contractual salary under the requirements applicable to this occupation?
Employers should establish that amount before finalizing the salary offer.
Increasing the Salary on Paper Is Not a Solution
The opposite mistake is also possible.
An employer might ask:
If the threshold is KRW 31.12 million, would it be better to write KRW 50 million in the employment contract?
The salary stated in the contract must reflect the employer's actual commitment to pay.
Salary is only one of the factors considered in an E-7 application.
Writing a higher figure does not resolve a mismatch between the employee's actual duties and the proposed occupation. It also does not automatically satisfy the other eligibility requirements.
More importantly, the salary in an employment contract establishes the employment conditions agreed upon by the employer and employee.
The objective is not to create an impressive salary figure for a visa application. It is to establish genuine, payable employment terms that satisfy the applicable requirements.
5. The Contractual Salary Must Be Reflected in Actual Payment
The final stage concerns payment.
Article 43 of Korea's Labor Standards Act establishes principles concerning the direct and full payment of wages, as well as payment at least once a month on a fixed date, subject to the exceptions provided by law and applicable collective agreements.
Employers should therefore not treat the salary stated in an immigration employment contract as separate from the wages they actually intend to pay.
Actual income documentation has also been an issue in immigration-related administrative appeals.
Administrative Appeal: Failure to Substantiate Annual Income in an E-7-4 Status Change Application
In Case No. 2020-1403, decided on October 20, 2020, the Central Administrative Appeals Commission reviewed a refusal to grant a change of status of stay.
The applicant sought to change from E-9 non-professional employment status to E-7-4 skilled worker status.
Under the points-based requirements applicable at that time, the applicant needed to meet certain historical annual income conditions and substantiate the income through a certificate of income issued by the tax authorities.
However, the applicant failed to submit the required income certificate for 2017.
The applicant also acknowledged that the income for that year was below the then-applicable KRW 26 million threshold.
The Commission did not award the relevant income points and dismissed the appeal because the applicant failed to meet the points requirements.
The scope of this decision must be understood carefully.
This was a case involving the E-7-4 points system applicable in 2020. It does not establish that identical income documentation requirements apply to every new E-7 employment application in 2026.
Rather, it illustrates that where an immigration procedure requires proof of income, the authorities may examine evidence of income actually earned during the relevant period rather than relying solely on a prospective salary figure in a contract.
Employers must check the documentation rules applicable to the current application and ensure that the employment relationship is operated in accordance with the agreed wage conditions.
Meeting Korea's Minimum Wage Does Not Automatically Satisfy the E-7 Salary Requirement
Employers must distinguish between the statutory minimum wage and the E-7 immigration salary requirements.
The minimum wage is a labor-law standard governing the compensation employers must provide to workers.
The E-7 salary requirement is an immigration standard relevant to employing a foreign worker under the designated status of stay.
Meeting the statutory minimum wage does not automatically mean that an employer satisfies the salary requirement applicable to a particular E-7 occupation.
Employers must check both the relevant labor-law requirements and the immigration salary conditions for the proposed occupation.
Three Documents Employers Should Prepare Before Finalizing Salary Negotiations
What should a company prepare before agreeing on a final salary?
Three practical documents provide a useful starting point.
First: A Job Description Reflecting the Actual Duties
Identify approximately three to five core duties that the foreign employee will regularly perform.
Use these duties to determine the appropriate E-7 occupation and subcategory.
The job description should reflect the work itself, not merely the company's preferred job title.
Second: A Detailed Compensation Breakdown
Separate the compensation package into relevant components, including:
- Base salary
- Fixed allowances
- Performance bonuses
- Incentives
- Benefits and other compensation arrangements
Record the amount and payment conditions for each component.
A document stating only the total annual compensation is not sufficient for a detailed preliminary assessment.
Third: The Current Salary Requirements for the Specific Occupation
Obtain the Ministry of Justice salary notice applicable to the application and determine whether an occupation-specific standard applies.
Do not stop after downloading the general E-7 salary table.
Compare the basic threshold with any separate requirements governing the proposed occupation.
The three documents should then be reviewed together:
Job description → Applicable salary requirement → Compensation breakdown
This comparison provides the foundation for determining what salary the company should offer and include in the employment contract.
These are practical documents for an employer's preliminary review. They are not presented as a universal list of mandatory documents for every E-7 application.
What Can Employers Review Independently, and When Is Professional Review Necessary?
Where the occupation is clear, no separate occupational salary requirement applies, and the compensation package consists mainly of a straightforward fixed monthly salary, employers can conduct an initial assessment themselves.
They can identify the relevant Ministry of Justice notice, calculate the proposed contractual annual salary, and compare it with the applicable threshold.
However, a simple comparison of annual totals is insufficient in situations such as:
- Uncertainty about whether an occupation-specific salary requirement applies
- Questions about whether bonuses, allowances, or benefits can be counted
- Compensation packages that combine contractual wages with employer-paid costs
- Difficulty identifying which components qualify under the applicable immigration requirements
In these situations, the immigration salary requirement and the actual compensation structure in the employment contract should be reviewed together before the offer is finalized.
The Most Important Rule for E-7 Salary Planning
An employer should not determine an E-7 employee's annual salary simply by copying a figure found online.
First, identify the occupation based on the actual job duties.
Next, determine the basic salary threshold and any occupation-specific requirements applicable to that position.
Then assess whether the salary the company genuinely intends to pay meets those requirements.
Only after completing these steps should the final salary and employment contract be confirmed.
Do not finalize the salary or sign the employment contract before identifying the applicable occupational requirements and verifying the compensation structure.
If your company is uncertain which salary threshold applies to its proposed E-7 occupation or whether its compensation structure satisfies that threshold, a free preliminary review can help you determine whether the proposed employment terms are feasible in your specific circumstances.
References
- Ministry of Justice, Notice No. 2025-106, 2025 Salary Requirements for the E-7 Status of Stay, March 20, 2025.
- Ministry of Justice, Notice No. 2025-406, 2026 Salary Requirements for the E-7 Status of Stay, December 29, 2025.
- Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and Ministry of Justice, Expansion of Domestic Employment for Foreign Aquaculture Technicians, January 5, 2026, including the attached screening criteria.
- Central Administrative Appeals Commission, Case No. 2020-1403, October 20, 2020, Appeal Seeking Revocation of a Refusal to Grant a Change of Status of Stay.
- Labor Standards Act, Article 43.