Compare the recoverable path, not only the headline wage claim
A worker challenging a dismissal in Korea may first focus on the wages that could accrue between dismissal and reinstatement. That headline amount does not show how long the procedure may take, what must be paid before recovery, how post-dismissal earnings may affect the result, or whether the household can finance living costs while waiting. Two routes with the same assumed wage period can therefore produce very different net recovery and cash pressure.
This calculator places three alternatives on one consistent set of assumptions: an unfair-dismissal application to a Labor Relations Commission, a commission case followed by administrative litigation, and a separate civil action seeking confirmation that the dismissal is invalid. It does not add the three results together. It also does not assign a success probability or decide whether reinstatement, monetary compensation, or litigation is legally preferable.
Deadline signal
Adds three calendar months to the entered dismissal date and shows the remaining days.
Net recovery
Subtracts an entered interim-income deduction, a planning reserve, and route-specific costs.
Survival cash
Tracks interim earnings and essential living costs until the assumed final recovery month.
A star marks only the highest discounted recovery produced by the entered numbers. It is not a legal recommendation and says nothing about evidence, success, reinstatement, enforcement, or the employer's ability to pay.
Statutory checkpoints verified for 2026
The legal references were checked against the current official text on August 30, 2026. Article 28 of Korea's Labor Standards Act provides a three-month period from the unfair dismissal for an application to a Labor Relations Commission. The calculator treats this as three calendar months, not a flat 90 days. For example, an entered dismissal date of May 31, 2026 produces an entered deadline of August 31, 2026.
Initial commission application
The three-month signal comes from Article 28 of the Labor Standards Act. A disputed dismissal date, a holiday at the end of a filing period, or a procedural exception needs case-specific confirmation. Do not wait for the calculator's final day when filing is urgent.
Review and administrative action
Under Article 31, an application for review must ordinarily be filed within 10 days from notice of the local commission decision, and an administrative action within 15 days from service of the review decision. Missing either period can make the relevant decision final. These short follow-up periods are stated in the interface but are not generated from the initial dismissal date.
The Labor Relations Commission Rules ordinarily call for a hearing within 60 days of filing, subject to extension and case management. That is not a promise that a case will finish in 60 days. Service, investigation, postponement, review, and litigation can materially lengthen the route, which is why every duration field remains an editable assumption rather than an official average.
The calculator also displays a five-employee baseline signal because the Labor Standards Act generally applies to a business or workplace regularly employing at least five workers. A count below five does not mean that the dismissal was lawful or that every remedy disappears. The method for counting regular employees and the coverage of written notice, notice pay, contractual rights, or civil claims may require separate analysis.
How to enter comparable assumptions
- Start with the dismissal and as-of dates. The dismissal date drives the initial commission filing signal. The as-of date is used only to count how many days remain under the dates entered.
- Enter the regular employee count cautiously. If the count is uncertain, keep payroll records, schedules, organization charts, and evidence about workers who may be included. Treat the five-worker result as a prompt for review rather than a final coverage decision.
- Separate monthly wage-equivalent, average wage, and ordinary wage. The wage-equivalent amount builds the assumed recovery. Average and ordinary wage are used only for the civil interim-income precedent reference. They are not interchangeable payroll labels.
- Use one consistent basis for interim earnings and living costs. If earnings vary by month, run low, base, and high scenarios instead of hiding volatility in one optimistic average.
- Enter route duration and wage-recovery months separately. A procedure lasting 12 months does not automatically produce 12 months of recoverable wages. Use the period discussed in advice or supported by the claim theory.
- Break out representative and procedure costs. Check whether a quote includes value-added tax, filing and service charges, success fees, transcripts, recordings, translation, expert evidence, and enforcement work.
- Treat the tax and insurance rate as a reserve. It is a cash-planning haircut, not a calculation of final withholding, social insurance, or taxable income. Confirm final treatment with the payer and qualified advisers.
How the calculator derives net recovery and cash needs
Nominal recovery
Wage-equivalent recovery equals the monthly wage-equivalent amount multiplied by the entered recovery months. Other recovery is added only when the user has a separately confirmed amount. The selected or entered interim-income deduction is capped at gross recovery, then the planning reserve and both cost fields are subtracted.
Gross assumed recovery = monthly wage equivalent × recovery months + other confirmed recovery
Nominal net recovery = recovery after deduction − reserve − representative and procedure costs
Present value
Recovery after the planning reserve is discounted over the entered route duration using the annual rate. Costs are treated as an immediate first-month outflow and therefore are not discounted again. Present value helps compare a smaller earlier result with a larger later result, but it does not capture stress, evidence deterioration, career effects, or legal risk.
Present-value net = recovery after reserve ÷ (1 + annual rate)^(months ÷ 12) − total costs
Cash needed before recovery
The monthly plan places representative and procedure costs in month one. It then subtracts essential living costs from interim income each month and places the recovery after reserve in the last month. The deepest cumulative deficit immediately before final recovery is the cash required to bridge the route. Current cash is subtracted from that requirement to show the additional amount that may need to be saved or financed.
This is deliberately simple. If costs are paid in installments, interim earnings begin later, or a provisional payment arrives before judgment, run a conservative base case and a separate adjusted case. Do not interpret negative closing cash as a prediction that financing will be available.
Understanding the civil interim-income precedent reference
When a dismissal is invalid, Article 538 of the Civil Act may affect the relationship between unpaid wages and benefits obtained because the employee did not work for the dismissing employer. The Supreme Court's June 28, 1991 decision in case 90DaKa25277 recognized that earnings from another job may be deducted, while preserving the protected shutdown-allowance portion and requiring temporal correspondence between the wages and the interim earnings.
The current baseline in Article 46 of the Labor Standards Act is 70% of average wage. If that amount exceeds ordinary wage, ordinary wage may be used under the statutory structure. The calculator therefore uses the lower of monthly average wage multiplied by 70% and monthly ordinary wage as a simplified protected floor. It subtracts that floor from the monthly wage-equivalent amount to obtain a reference monthly deduction cap.
Protected floor
The lower of 70% of monthly average wage and monthly ordinary wage.
Reference cap
The positive excess of monthly wage-equivalent recovery over the protected floor.
Period deduction
The lower of total interim earnings and the monthly reference cap multiplied by recovery months.
This is a consultation reference, not a prediction of the amount a court will deduct. Wage definitions, matching periods, the nature of earnings, other benefits, and the pleaded claim can change the result. The calculator never applies this civil precedent formula automatically to a commission monetary-compensation route; enter only a commission deduction confirmed by a decision or professional review.
Practical comparison scenarios
The commission deadline is close
Enter the dismissal and as-of dates first. If only a few days remain, confirm filing and correction procedures with the competent commission instead of waiting for perfect financial inputs. Collect route-specific fee and duration assumptions in parallel.
Cash recovery matters more than reinstatement
Commission monetary compensation and a civil wage claim do not share one automatic formula. Enter the months, other recovery, and deductions actually discussed for each route, then compare present value and survival cash without adding the alternatives.
A new job already produces income
Document the month and source of every post-dismissal earning. Use the precedent mode to see the simplified cap signal, then switch to a confirmed amount if legal review establishes a different matching period or deduction.
The household cannot finance a long case
Focus on additional cash needed and the monthly closing balance before comparing the largest nominal award. Ask whether fees can be staged, whether public rights assistance is available, and how a realistic interim-income plan changes the bridge requirement.
Frequently asked questions
Can a worker use the commission and civil court routes at the same time?
They are distinct procedures and may sometimes proceed in parallel, but claims and later reconciliation can become complex. Parallel procedure does not permit double recovery of the same wage loss. Confirm sequencing and claim scope for the individual case.
Does three months mean 90 days?
No. The statute states three months, so the calculator adds calendar months. A disputed dismissal date, month-end date, or holiday issue should be checked promptly with the competent commission.
Will a commission case finish within 60 days?
The Rules use 60 days as the ordinary hearing benchmark, not a guaranteed completion date. Investigation, service, postponement, review, and litigation can extend the route, so edit every duration assumption.
Are all earnings from a new job deducted in civil court?
Not automatically. The precedent addresses temporal correspondence and the protected shutdown-allowance portion. The displayed amount is only a simplified reference cap, not a court outcome.
What reserve rate should I use for tax and insurance?
There is no universal percentage. Use a conservative amount that you will not spend before final settlement, then verify actual withholding and social-insurance treatment with the payer and appropriate professionals.
Should I choose the route marked with a star?
No. The star reflects only the highest discounted value from your assumptions. It does not consider proof, legal merit, reinstatement preference, stress, career impact, enforcement, or collectability.
Evidence and planning checklist
Dismissal and wage records
- Written notice stating the reason and effective dismissal date.
- Messages, email, meeting notes, and work rules surrounding the decision.
- Employment contract, payslips, bonuses, allowances, and attendance records.
- Separate records of notice date, stated dismissal date, and actual last day.
Recovery and cash records
- Monthly proof of employment, freelance, or business income after dismissal.
- Written fee quotes showing tax, success fees, evidence, and enforcement scope.
- Essential household commitments and cash that is genuinely available.
- A dated schedule for filing, review, litigation, limitation, and payment events.
Update the model whenever the evidence changes
The first calculation should create a better list of questions, not a false answer. Run optimistic, base, and conservative cases with different durations, recoverable months, interim earnings, and fees. When a commission decision, legal opinion, new job, settlement offer, or revised quote arrives, replace the assumption and compare the routes again.
Keep separate reminders for deadlines the calculator does not schedule, including commission review, administrative litigation, a civil wage limitation issue, monetary-compensation procedure, appeals, and enforcement. A regularly updated model helps a worker discuss what can be funded and recovered instead of relying on the largest nominal claim.
Begin with the dismissal date, essential living costs, and verified fee quotes.
Compare the deadline, net recovery, and cash bridge on one screen.