Compare directly hired office-cleaning staff with an actual Korean vendor quote over the same area, worker count, visits, service hours, and horizon. The dedicated bilingual calculator reuses one pure KRW function for paid hours, wage, company-specific employer burden, an optional retirement-benefit planning reserve, leave and absence cover, supplies, equipment, recruiting, training, health management and internal oversight, plus vendor setup, monthly base, service-hour fees, supplies add-ons, annual extras and retained coordination. It solves total, monthly, per-service-hour and per-pyeong cost, three rate thresholds, horizon sensitivity and cumulative crossover. The guide preserves the 2026 KRW 10,320 minimum-wage notice, Minimum Wage Act Article 6, Labor Standards Act Articles 18, 55 and 60 and Enforcement Decree Article 30, Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act Articles 4 and 8, Occupational Safety and Health Act Articles 63 and 64, and Worker Dispatch Act Article 2 as checked on July 31, 2026, without inventing a market-average cleaning rate, statutory combined burden, paid-hour entitlement, vendor compliance or legal classification.
Starting amounts and the 12% burden are illustrative, not market averages or a statutory combined rate. Align area, zones, worker count, visits, service hours, supplies, backup coverage, and VAT treatment before comparing.
Normalize both options to the same area, worker count, visit schedule, service hours, and internal time value.
Whole months from 1 to 120
Used only for monthly cost per pyeong
Average workers applied to both options
Whole days from 1 to 7
Actual cleaning service time
Fully loaded cost for attendance, inspection, complaints, and vendor coordination
Enter wage, employer burden, planning reserve, backup coverage, supplies, equipment, and internal management time.
Compared with the 2026 minimum wage of KRW 10,320
Enter 0 to 8 after checking contract, four-week average, and attendance
Use company-specific contributions and benefits
Equipment, PPE, recruiting, and onboarding
Safety training, health management, and records
Attendance, payroll, quality, and backup coordination
Include setup, monthly base, service-hour fees, supplies and add-ons, plus retained inspection and coordination time.
Access setup, handover, and initial deep clean
For a flat monthly quote, enter the full monthly amount here
Use zero for a fully flat monthly quote
Use zero when supplies are included
Deep cleans, equipment, training, or insurance documents
Inspection, access, complaints, and vendor coordination
12-month total economic cost comparison
Direct hire KRW 3,158,731 saved
Direct-hire total
KRW 18,255,555
Outsourced total
KRW 21,414,286
Monthly saving
KRW 263,228
Annualized saving
KRW 3,158,731
KRW 18,255,555
KRW 21,414,286
Monthly service hours are actual cleaning time; monthly paid hours add the paid weekly-holiday hours you entered. These are review signals, not legal conclusions.
15 hours
65.18 hours
78.21 hours
Entered wage is at or above the benchmark
The schedule is at or above the 15-hour weekly threshold. Check the four-week average under Labor Standards Act Article 18, attendance under Enforcement Decree Article 30, the actual contract, and any exception before entering weekly-holiday hours or leave cover.
Hold every other input constant and change only the monthly vendor base fee, vendor service-hour fee, or direct-hire wage until total cost matches.
KRW 236,772/month
Holding other inputs constant, outsourcing is cheaper when the actual vendor rate is below this threshold.
KRW 11,961/hour
Holding other inputs constant, outsourcing is cheaper when the actual vendor rate is below this threshold.
KRW 13,117/hour
Holding other inputs constant, direct hire is cheaper when the actual hourly wage is below this threshold.
Keep the office scope, schedule, wage, and vendor rates fixed while changing only the horizon to see setup-cost dilution and recurring-cost accumulation.
| Horizon | Direct hire | Outsourcing | Lower-cost option | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 months | KRW 9,577,778 | KRW 10,857,143 | Direct hire | KRW 1,279,365 |
| 12 months | KRW 18,255,555 | KRW 21,414,286 | Direct hire | KRW 3,158,731 |
| 24 months | KRW 35,611,111 | KRW 42,528,571 | Direct hire | KRW 6,917,460 |
| 36 months | KRW 52,966,666 | KRW 63,642,857 | Direct hire | KRW 10,676,191 |
About 1.9 months is where the advantage changes from outsourcing to direct hire.
This is an economic crossover with annual costs spread over 12 months, not an invoice, payday, or cash-flow date.
Korea-based 2026 operating guidance · primary sources verified 2026-07-31
Comparing a vendor’s monthly quote with one cleaner’s hourly wage leaves out much of the economic cost.
Direct hire can require paid weekly-holiday hours, employer contributions and benefits, a retirement-benefit planning reserve, paid-leave or absence cover, supplies, equipment, recruiting, safety work, and internal payroll and quality-management time.
Outsourcing can require a survey and handover fee, a monthly minimum, service-hour charges, separate supplies, periodic deep-clean fees, and internal time for access, inspection, complaints, and vendor coordination.
This calculator applies one office area, worker count, visit schedule, and service-hour scope to both options, then converts every input into KRW over the same comparison horizon.
It reports total cost, monthly equivalent cost, cost per actual service hour, monthly cost per pyeong, three break-even rates, horizon sensitivity, and any cumulative cost crossover.
This English page models a Korean employment and cleaning-service decision in KRW.
It uses the 2026 Korean minimum wage as a warning benchmark and preserves Korean labor, retirement, contractor-safety, and worker-dispatch review points.
It does not decide employee status, social-insurance coverage, statutory weekly-holiday pay, annual leave, severance, contractor duties, VAT recovery, or whether an arrangement is lawful.
The same nominal floor area can require very different labor when the office has more restrooms, pantry use, glass partitions, carpet, waste separation, meeting-room turnover, security procedures, or restricted access hours.
A vendor quote for five three-hour visits each week cannot be compared with a direct-hire plan for three two-hour shifts without separating scope from operating model.
Align exclusive and shared areas, restrooms, pantry, glass, carpet, storage, waste, and scheduled deep cleaning.
Align worker count, visits per week, hours per visit, before-hours, night or weekend work, and break treatment.
State who provides chemicals, waste bags, paper goods, vacuums, floor machines, uniforms, and protective equipment.
Align absence cover, supervisor visits, inspection criteria, complaint rework, access cards, keys, and reporting.
Decide whether the comparison uses recoverable-VAT-exclusive cost or actual cash paid.
The calculator cannot know the company’s tax status or input-tax recovery, so it does not add or remove VAT automatically.
| Cost area | Inputs | Best evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Shared scope | Area, workers, visits, hours per visit | Floor plan, task schedule, recent work logs, written quote |
| Direct wage | Hourly wage and paid weekly-holiday hours | Employment contract, attendance, payroll, 2026 wage notice |
| Direct non-wage cost | Employer burden, reserve, backup, supplies, training, management time | Contribution notices, ledger, purchase records, four-week time log |
| Vendor price | Setup, monthly base, hourly fee, supplies, annual add-ons | Written price schedule tied to a service scope and SLA |
| Retained work | Direct management and outsourced coordination hours | HR, payroll, access, inspection, and complaint-handling logs |
The initial 12% employer-burden rate is an illustrative assumption, not an official combined Korean contribution rate.
Replace it with company-specific social-insurance, workers’ compensation, benefit, and other wage-linked cost from actual records.
If that rate already includes a retirement-benefit accrual, turn off the separate reserve to avoid double counting.
Average weeks per month = 365 / 7 / 12 = about 4.3452
Monthly service hours = workers x days per week x hours per visit x average weeks
Monthly paid hours = workers x (weekly service hours + entered paid weekly-holiday hours) x average weeks
In the default example, one worker serves five days for three hours per visit, producing 15 weekly service hours and about 65.18 monthly service hours.
The user enters three paid weekly-holiday hours, so monthly direct-hire paid time becomes about 78.21 hours.
The calculator does not infer that the three hours are legally due.
Confirm the four-week weekly-hours test under Korean Labor Standards Act Article 18, attendance on contractual workdays under Enforcement Decree Article 30, the actual contract, and any exception before entering paid hours.
Paid hours multiplied by hourly wage create base wage cost.
The model adds wage-linked employer burden, the optional one-twelfth retirement-benefit planning reserve, paid-leave and absence cover, supplies, equipment and recruiting, annual training and health-management cost, and internal management time.
The model adds setup, monthly base fees, actual service hours multiplied by the vendor hourly fee, supplies add-ons, annual contract extras, and retained internal coordination time.
For a fully flat monthly quote, put the full monthly amount in the base field and set the hourly vendor fee to zero.
The calculator removes the current monthly base-fee total from outsourced cost, then allocates the remaining room below direct-hire cost across the comparison months.
With every other input fixed, outsourcing is cheaper below a valid non-negative threshold.
The model removes current service-hour charges and divides the remaining room below direct-hire cost by all service hours in the horizon.
This rate is most useful for a quote that combines a fixed monthly minimum with hourly usage.
Wage, employer burden, and the optional reserve move together when the hourly wage changes.
The resulting threshold is mathematical, not a lawful wage recommendation.
If it falls below KRW 10,320, the business must not use that lower number as a 2026 hiring rate; it should revisit vendor price, non-wage cost, or service design.
This is a transparent test vector, not a Korean market average.
It uses one worker, five weekly visits, three hours per visit, a direct wage of KRW 10,320, three entered paid weekly-holiday hours, and a 12% illustrative employer burden.
The vendor side uses a KRW 500,000 monthly base fee, KRW 16,000 per service hour, and KRW 100,000 monthly supplies add-on.
| Metric | Result | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly service hours | 65.18 hours | Actual cleaning time shared by both options |
| Direct-hire monthly paid hours | 78.21 hours | Includes the entered weekly-holiday hours |
| Direct-hire 12-month total | KRW 18,255,555 | Wage, burden, reserve, cover, supplies, and management included |
| Outsourced 12-month total | KRW 21,414,286 | Setup, base, hours, supplies, extras, and retained time included |
| Direct-hire saving | KRW 3,158,731 | Valid only for these illustrative inputs |
| Monthly vendor base break-even | About KRW 236,772 | Vendor base must be lower when other vendor cost stays fixed |
| Vendor hourly break-even | About KRW 11,961 | Threshold under the current base and add-ons |
| Direct wage break-even | About KRW 13,117 | Direct hire is cheaper below this mathematical threshold |
| Cumulative crossover | About 1.92 months | Initial outsourcing advantage changes to direct-hire advantage |
The example does not prove that direct hire is generally cheaper.
A flat vendor quote, guaranteed backup, included supplies, night work, different management time, security requirements, or a different VAT basis can change both the result and crossover.
Ministry of Employment and Labor Notice No. 2025-47 set the 2026 hourly minimum wage at KRW 10,320 from January 1, 2026.
Minimum Wage Act Article 6 requires at least the applicable minimum and addresses principal responsibility where a contracting party sets or reduces labor cost below that minimum.
The calculator warns about the entered direct wage but does not decide included wage, probation, occupation classification, or an exemption.
Korean Labor Standards Act Article 18 excludes Articles 55 and 60 when contractual hours average below 15 per week over four weeks.
Article 55 addresses a paid weekly holiday, Article 60 addresses annual paid leave, and Enforcement Decree Article 30 ties the weekly holiday to attendance on contractual workdays.
The calculator provides a schedule flag but leaves paid weekly-holiday hours and absence cover editable because schedule alone is not a legal determination.
Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act Article 4, effective July 1, 2026 in the verified version, provides exceptions for less than one year of continuous service and for an average below 15 weekly contractual hours.
Article 8 requires a system able to pay at least 30 days of average wage per year of continuous service.
The optional one-twelfth amount in this calculator is only a planning reserve and is not the employee’s statutory severance calculation.
Occupational Safety and Health Act Article 63 requires relevant principal-contractor safety and health measures when contractor workers work at the principal’s workplace, while Article 64 addresses coordination, inspections, training support, work checks, and related prevention measures.
Worker Dispatch Act Article 2 defines worker dispatch around a worker remaining employed by the dispatching employer while taking direction and orders from the user employer.
A written service label does not settle the actual operating structure, so obtain Korean safety and labor review before deciding.
Recruiting, equipment, and payroll administration can create a high unit cost when actual service hours are low.
A vendor minimum can create the opposite problem, so test bundled sites, fewer visits, or a different fixed-variable price mix.
Identity checks, access rights, keys, confidentiality, incident reporting, and control of replacement workers can matter more than a small cost gap.
Price those requirements where possible and use a separate non-price scorecard.
Run current and future office scopes separately.
A larger area can change worker count, supervision, equipment, and a vendor price tier rather than scaling every cost proportionally.
An economic result does not decide dismissal, contract termination, transfer, or workforce-restructuring compliance.
Add handover and service-gap cost, then review employment procedure separately with a qualified Korean professional.
Enter the entire comparable monthly amount as the monthly base fee and set the service-hour fee to zero. Put separately billed supplies or deep cleans in their own fields to avoid double counting.
No. Confirm the four-week average of contractual hours, attendance on contractual workdays, the employment contract, and any exception before entering the paid hours.
No. It is an illustrative model input. Build a company-specific rate from actual employer contributions, workers compensation, benefits, and other wage-linked cost.
No. It adds one-twelfth of modeled wage as a budget reserve. Actual entitlement and payment depend on continuous service, weekly contractual hours, and average wage.
No. A break-even wage is only a mathematical threshold. Comply with the 2026 minimum wage and its inclusion rules, then change vendor price, service scope, or other cost assumptions.
Review scope, backup coverage, quality checks, security, safety, subcontracting, liability, insurance, escalation, VAT, renewal, and termination. Also review the actual direction-and-control structure.
Primary Korean sources were checked through the National Law Information Center OPEN API and official Ministry and Minimum Wage Commission material on July 31, 2026.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act check used the current July 7, 2026 effective version to avoid confusing it with future versions already present in the statute history.
Recheck the next minimum-wage notice, amended statutes, company contribution notices, and the final vendor contract before a real decision.
This calculator supports budgeting and quote comparison; it does not replace Korean legal, labor, tax, accounting, or safety advice.
Gather at least several recent weeks of cleaning time, payroll, supplies, and internal management logs, then request vendor quotes against the same task schedule.
Total cost, unit cost, break-even rates, and horizon crossover provide a stronger negotiation record than one headline monthly price.
When the costs are close, give greater weight to quality, security, backup coverage, working conditions, safety, and contract control.