Estimate Korea's 2026 vocational-training living-cost loan limit, upfront guarantee fee, net proceeds, grace-period interest, equal-principal payments, and living-cost gap.
2026 current-rule planning check
This is a planning estimate, not an approval. KCOMWEL determines course status, income and guarantee eligibility, monthly participation, and budget availability.
Enter the applicant category and the approved course duration and remaining days.
The standard route generally requires at least 140 hours.
Check 15 days for the standard route or 8 days for the winter exception.
KCOMWEL decides the actual eligible months under its training-day rules.
Is this an approved loan-eligible course?
Are you currently enrolled and applying before course completion?
Use the winter construction day-worker exception?
Separate requirements include at least 30 insured day-worker days in the prior 180 days and a December–February course.
Are you currently receiving unemployment benefits?
Compare 2026 median-income thresholds with the monthly and total loan limits.
Rounded down to KRW 10,000 units; current range is KRW 500,000–2,000,000.
2026 median income
KRW 2,564,238
Selected income threshold
KRW 2,051,390
Income comparison
Within threshold
Estimate the training-period cash gap and mark potential guarantee exclusions.
Any delinquency, subrogation, or other credit restriction?
Are you a foreign national or overseas Korean?
Any fraudulent-loan or cancelled-guarantee history?
Provisional eligibility check
Key entered conditions pass
Planned gross loan
KRW 10,000,000
Rounded monthly request
KRW 2,000,000
Remaining total ceiling
KRW 10,000,000
Average monthly loan
KRW 1,666,667
Estimates use 1% annual interest, a 1% annual guarantee fee, and equal-principal monthly repayment.
Estimated guarantee fee
KRW 300,000
Net after guarantee fee
KRW 9,700,000
Monthly interest during grace
KRW 8,333
Estimated total interest
KRW 254,167
First repayment month
KRW 286,111
Last repayment month
KRW 278,009
Total financing cost
KRW 554,167
Repayment months
36 months
| Plan | Guarantee fee | First month | Last month | Total interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-year grace + 3-year repayment | KRW 300,000 | KRW 286,111 | KRW 278,009 | KRW 254,167 |
| 2-year grace + 4-year repayment | KRW 450,000 | KRW 216,667 | KRW 208,507 | KRW 404,167 |
| 3-year grace + 5-year repayment | KRW 600,000 | KRW 175,000 | KRW 166,806 | KRW 554,167 |
Monthly gap before loan
KRW 1,800,000
Monthly gap after average loan
KRW 133,333
Rules checked 2026-08-20 · Income ratio 80%
Korea's vocational-training living-cost loan is a low-interest program designed to help eligible people cover essential expenses while completing a longer training course. The Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, commonly called KCOMWEL, reviews the application and provides the credit guarantee, while IBK Industrial Bank of Korea executes the loan.
The program is relevant to unemployed people, non-regular workers, workers on unpaid leave, and self-employed people insured under Employment Insurance. Applicant status alone is not enough. The approved course, remaining training period, household income, credit-guarantee restrictions, prior program borrowing, and annual budget all affect the actual decision.
The current operating rule covers four broad applicant categories: an unemployed person, a non-regular employee, an employee on unpaid leave, or a self-employed person insured under Employment Insurance. A person receiving unemployment benefits is excluded during the benefit period, so the benefit end date and the remaining course period need to be checked together.
The separate credit-guarantee rule can also exclude an applicant with reportable delinquency, subrogation, default, financial-order information, or certain public credit information. A prior fraudulent loan or cancelled guarantee may be disqualifying. Foreign nationals and overseas Koreans are listed as excluded from this guarantee program. The on-screen switches help surface those review points but cannot query a credit record.
The approved training generally needs at least 140 total hours. Online training counts only when it is an eligible interactive, real-time format under the current rule.
Apply while actively enrolled and before the course ends. The standard route generally checks whether at least 15 training days remain when the application is filed.
A narrow exception may apply to a construction day worker with at least 30 insured day-worker days in the prior 180 days who enters a qualifying two-week course starting from December through February. The calculator checks the special eight-day boundary only when the user confirms this route.
A total ceiling does not mean that the full amount is unconditionally available at the start. Each target month generally needs at least 15 training days. Partial days in the starting and ending months may be combined under the operating rule, and the winter exception uses a separate eight-day rule. A monthly application is generally due by the tenth day of the following month. A course interruption can stop future draws even after earlier amounts were executed.
The standard numerical test compares total monthly household income with 80% of Korea's official median income for the household size. Certain nationally strategic training, advanced digital training, and specified middle-age career programs may use the 100% threshold. Basic-livelihood recipients, near-poor households, and certain care leavers can be treated as meeting the income condition. Separate crisis-area or special-employment categories may have no income ceiling, but documentary proof is essential.
| Household | Median income at 100% | Standard threshold at 80% |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person | KRW 2,564,238 | KRW 2,051,390 |
| 2 people | KRW 4,199,292 | KRW 3,359,433 |
| 3 people | KRW 5,359,036 | KRW 4,287,228 |
| 4 people | KRW 6,494,738 | KRW 5,195,790 |
| 5 people | KRW 7,556,719 | KRW 6,045,375 |
| 6 people | KRW 8,555,952 | KRW 6,844,761 |
| 7 people | KRW 9,515,150 | KRW 7,612,120 |
The requested monthly amount is rounded down to a KRW 10,000 unit and capped at KRW 2 million. The standard cumulative ceiling is KRW 10 million. Prior amounts received under the same program reduce the currently available ceiling unless KCOMWEL determines that a regulatory exception applies after full repayment. The special KRW 20 million ceiling is not created by selecting a button; the applicant must belong to a category identified in the current program notice and submit supporting evidence.
This is a planning boundary under the entered assumptions, not an approved amount.
The calculator returns no planned amount when the rounded request or remaining ceiling is below the KRW 500,000 monthly minimum.
The interest rate and the basic guarantee-fee rate are both 1% per year, but they are different costs. Interest accrues on the loan balance. During the grace period, the calculator assumes no principal reduction and shows a monthly interest estimate. During repayment, it follows IBK's published equal-principal method: the principal component stays level, while interest falls with the balance.
The guarantee rule charges a fee based on the guaranteed balance and period. For a readable comparison, this calculator assumes one full draw, a constant balance during grace, and evenly declining annual opening balances during repayment. Actual program draws are monthly, and the fee is generally deducted when each amount is executed. Early repayment can trigger a reconciliation.
| Plan | Guarantee fee | First repayment | Last repayment | Total interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-year grace + 3-year repayment | KRW 300,000 | KRW 286,111 | KRW 278,009 | KRW 254,167 |
| 2-year grace + 4-year repayment | KRW 450,000 | KRW 216,667 | KRW 208,507 | KRW 404,167 |
| 3-year grace + 5-year repayment | KRW 600,000 | KRW 175,000 | KRW 166,806 | KRW 554,167 |
A shorter plan reduces the estimated guarantee fee and total interest, but the principal is divided across only 36 months. It is most useful when post-training employment and income are likely to stabilize quickly.
A longer plan lowers the first monthly repayment and allows more time before principal repayment begins. The tradeoff is a longer guarantee period and more interest, so compare total financing cost as well as the monthly amount.
First confirm that unemployment benefits are no longer being received. A request of KRW 2 million for six months mathematically reaches KRW 12 million, but the standard KRW 10 million total ceiling reduces the average planning amount to about KRW 1.67 million per month.
Ongoing wages remain relevant to the household-income test. If the actual cash gap is below KRW 500,000 per month, borrowing the minimum simply to access the program may add unnecessary debt, so compare grants and allowances first.
Current program guidance identifies workers on unpaid leave among categories that may use the KRW 20 million special ceiling. Selecting it in the calculator is only a scenario; the unpaid-leave period, course participation, and evidence must be accepted.
Enter the amount KCOMWEL tells you counts against the ceiling. The operating rule addresses prior amounts received and an exception after full repayment, so do not substitute a current bank balance without confirming how the individual record is treated.
No. It only compares entered facts with major published boundaries. KCOMWEL still decides course status, household income, guarantee eligibility, monthly participation, and budget availability.
The standard cumulative ceiling is KRW 10 million, and prior borrowing can reduce it further. The special KRW 20 million ceiling requires a qualifying category and evidence.
Not as a simple one-time 1%. It depends on the guaranteed balance and period and is generally deducted when each draw is executed. A longer grace and repayment term therefore produces a larger estimate.
Principal repayment is deferred, but interest still accrues. The calculator separately displays estimated monthly grace-period interest at the current 1% annual rate.
Future monthly draws can stop because continued participation and the monthly training-day condition are checked. Contact KCOMWEL and IBK promptly about the repayment status of amounts already executed.
The current decree and operating rule exclude unemployment-benefit recipients. After benefits end, the remaining training period and application timing still need to satisfy the program rules.
Check the current KCOMWEL employee-welfare portal or the responsible local office. After review and guarantee issuance, the loan agreement is completed through IBK under the notified procedure.
The calculator's rules were checked on August 20, 2026. The legal basis includes Article 29(3) of the Employment Insurance Act, Article 47-2 of its Enforcement Decree, Ministry of Employment and Labor Notice 2026-42 governing the vocational-training living-cost loan, and Notice 2026-59 governing the worker credit-guarantee program. The household amounts come from Ministry of Health and Welfare Notice 2025-135 for the 2026 median income. Current monthly and total limits were cross-checked against the active Work24 program page.
Subtract training income and allowances from essential rent, food, transport, and family expenses. Then compare net proceeds after the guarantee fee with the first repayment after training. Save the result, prepare course and income evidence, and use a KCOMWEL consultation to confirm the final figures.