Check each part of a Korean fishing-crew discharge settlement
This calculator separates severance, unemployment allowance, termination-notice pay, repatriation allowance and unused special-leave pay under Korea’s Seafarers Act.
It helps a departing fishing-crew member or a family member compare the owner’s settlement statement with the wage basis, service period and payment evidence for each item.
A general employee severance formula can miss the Act’s service-period rounding and the special 20-day entitlement for some shorter contracts.
A simple average of recent share-based earnings can also differ from the statutory fishing-crew wage conversions used here.
Check coverage and wage classification first, then match each prior payment to its own settlement category.
Korea-specific 2026 rules
Sources were checked on November 9, 2026 (2026-11-09).
Retirement dates are restricted to 2026-10-27 through 2026-12-31, and all amounts are pre-tax KRW, not after-tax receipts.
This reference calculation does not determine whether a termination is justified, a payment legally counts as wages, or a collective agreement is effective.
Confirm those questions against the contract, payroll evidence and the relevant Korean authority.
Coverage: check both gross tonnage and fishing area
The under-20-ton coastal exclusion
Article 3 and Article 2 of the Enforcement Rule exclude fishing vessels below 20 gross tons engaged in fishing in the specified sheltered, coastal or near-sea areas, including transport vessels within that exclusion.
A 19.99-ton coastal vessel therefore does not receive a confirmed Seafarers Act settlement here; review the general employment-law route instead.
Exactly 20 tons does not meet this particular exclusion.
Tonnage alone is insufficient
The same coastal exclusion is not automatically applied to an under-20-ton distant-water vessel.
Confirm that the vessel is within the Act’s covered Korean-vessel or other specified categories and that no other exclusion, such as particular inland or harbor-only navigation, applies.
Unconfirmed coverage remains pending rather than becoming a zero entitlement.
The calculator does not automatically interpret separate agreements for foreign crew, overseas merchant-vessel employment or unusual contracts.
Use vessel registration, the seafarer employment agreement and service records to establish the vessel’s status and actual operating area.
Fixed pay, ordinary wages and onboard average wages
The conversion percentages in Article 57(2) and Enforcement Decree Article 19-2 apply to the benefits enumerated in that provision.
Here, special monthly ordinary wages T and monthly onboard average wages A are used for Articles 37, 39 and 55: unemployment, repatriation and severance.
Termination-notice pay and special-leave pay use a separately confirmed ordinary monthly wage O.
The higher converted wage is not automatically used for every payment.
Fishing-crew ordinary and onboard average wage conversions as percentages of monthly fixed pay| Wage arrangement | T ratio | A ratio |
|---|
| Fixed-pay-heavy industry or vessel, with crew-owner agreement | 135% | 165% |
| Other fixed monthly pay plus production allowance | 140% | 170% |
| Share-based pay and other arrangements outside those categories | 145% | 175% |
Fixed-pay-only arrangements
For fixed pay alone, enter wages and actual onboard days for the relevant period of up to three months before the event.
Daily onboard average wages are the greater of period wages divided by actual days and the confirmed ordinary monthly wage divided by 30.
Multiply that daily amount by 30 to obtain the monthly equivalent A.
Wages and days must cover the same period; exclusions must be supported and consistently matched.
Article 52(5) treats 30 days as a month when prorating wages.
The general 2026 monthly seafarer minimum wage is KRW 2,694,560.
The notice’s KRW 3,184,540 fixed-pay minimum and KRW 5,572,940 onboard average amount concern fishing-crew accident compensation; they are not automatically substituted as discharge-settlement severance floors.
Severance: service rounding and the 20-day exception
At least one year of continuous employment
The standard calculation is monthly onboard average wages A multiplied by credited service years.
Under Article 55(3), no remainder adds nothing, a remainder below six months counts as half a year, and a remainder of at least six months counts as a full year.
Exactly one year produces one year of severance; one year and one day produces one and a half; exactly one year and six months produces two.
This differs from dividing total service days by 365.
Six months to less than one year
Article 55(5) provides a 20-day onboard-average-wage basis when the contract expires or employment ends without responsibility attributable to the crew member.
The reference amount is A × 20 ÷ 30.
One day short of six months does not qualify for this statutory exception, and ordinary voluntary resignation in the same short period does not automatically qualify.
A voluntary resignation after at least one year is separately assessed under the standard severance rule.
Service includes the start date and excludes the retirement date.
The retirement date entered here is the first day no longer employed, normally the day after the last working day.
Starting on 2025-10-27 and retiring on 2026-10-27 is exactly one year.
Calendar anniversaries handle month ends and leap years; entering the final working day instead can change a boundary result.
Agreements and interim settlements
Use confirmed severance entry when a collective agreement or work rule changes service counting under Article 55(4), or an approved replacement arrangement applies.
An interim settlement resets only the severance start; it does not erase actual continuous onboard service or the separate leave period.
When the period after an interim settlement is under one year, the statutory mode leaves severance and the total pending until a confirmed amount is supplied.
Unemployment allowance and notice pay have different triggers
Article 37 unemployment allowance is two months of ordinary wages, separate from severance.
Its triggers are owner termination without crew fault, crew termination because actual conditions differ from the contract, and termination because sinking, loss or other unavoidable circumstances prevent continued business.
Simple contract expiry is not automatically one of those termination events.
This allowance also differs from benefits calculated under general employment insurance.
Less than 30 days of written notice
Article 33 concerns the owner terminating the employment agreement.
Without at least 30 days of written notice, the statutory reference is at least 30 days of ordinary wages; this calculator uses the separately confirmed monthly amount O.
A 29-day notice does not reduce the calculation to the missing single day.
Distinguish the exceptions for recognized inability to continue business, unauthorized departure without just cause, and statutory disciplinary discharge.
A crew member terminating for mismatched conditions can meet the unemployment-allowance trigger without automatically receiving owner termination-notice pay.
Use the reason comparison to understand the difference, then support the actual reason with the termination document, contractual conditions and any Seafarers Labor Relations Commission recognition.
Selecting a reason simply because it produces a larger result does not establish a claim.
Separate repatriation allowance from actual travel costs
Article 38 concerns returning a crew member discharged at a port other than their residence or the place where the employment agreement was made.
Actual transport, accommodation, meals and other covered costs differ from the Article 39 allowance for time spent being repatriated.
Where repatriation is needed and no exception applies, the allowance is T ÷ 30 × repatriation days.
The allowance must also be considered separately when the owner pays costs instead of arranging the journey.
Allowance exceptions
Article 39 excludes the Article 38(2) categories, including unauthorized departure without just cause, disciplinary discharge and specified cost-recovery grounds in an agreement or work rule.
Entering travel days alone therefore does not always add an allowance.
The six-month cost-recovery boundary
Even where cost recovery has a basis, the statutory text prohibits claiming 50% or more of repatriation costs from a crew member repatriated after at least six months of service.
Exactly half is included in that prohibited boundary.
The owner’s cost claim is shown for separate review and is not automatically deducted from settlement benefits.
Unused paid leave for the specified fisheries
Article 74 and Enforcement Rule Articles 46-4 through 46-7 cover the specified distant-water, large trawl and large purse-seine fishing vessels; catch transport vessels are excluded from this special leave regime.
Confirm continuous onboard service within the same business and the leave period being settled now.
Records must also support any continuity treatment for a service interruption of no more than 30 days without intent or gross negligence attributable to the crew member.
Compare earned and used days
The special basis is 20 days for one year of continuous service, plus one day for each completed month of continuous service beyond that first year.
Unused days equal earned days less used days, floored at zero.
Unused leave pay is O ÷ 30 × unused days.
If used days exceed earned days, check the records rather than treating the negative difference as a debt.
Do not enter periods already settled in an earlier leave payment.
Selecting another fishery or a transport vessel means this special regime is not calculated; it does not establish that every other leave right is absent.
General seafarer leave rules are not mixed into this special fishing-crew formula.
Review other statutory or agreed rights separately, and leave the special item and aggregate pending when its qualifying period has not been confirmed.
How to use the calculator and match payments
- Confirm gross tonnage, operating area and Seafarers Act coverage, then select whether the special distant-water, large trawl or large purse-seine leave regime applies.
Keep undocumented facts unconfirmed.
- Select the actual wage arrangement and fixed monthly pay, then enter separately confirmed ordinary monthly wages for notice and leave pay.
For fixed pay alone, use matched wages and actual onboard days from the same reference period.
- Distinguish the original employment start, first non-employed day, continuous onboard start and leave-period start.
Apply any interim reset only to severance, or enter the confirmed agreed severance amount.
- Enter the actual termination or expiry reason, written notice, commission recognition, repatriation days and costs, and used leave.
Match money already received to severance, unemployment, notice, repatriation and leave separately.
- Confirm payment dates, the calculation date and interest-eligible wages, then save or print the statement.
Keep the article references and unresolved checks with the amounts when approaching the owner.
Each unpaid balance is its calculated amount less matched prior payment, floored at zero.
An excess payment in one category is not automatically offset against another, and an excess-to-reconcile figure is not an established repayment obligation.
If a single bank transfer has no category breakdown, obtain the settlement statement before assigning it to individual benefits.
Worked example: a share-paid fishing-crew member
Assumptions
Fixed monthly pay is KRW 3,000,000 under share-based pay, giving T of KRW 4,350,000 and A of KRW 5,250,000.
Separately confirmed O is KRW 3,000,000.
Employment, onboard service and the leave period all start on 2025-01-01 and end immediately before retirement on 2026-10-27.
Assume owner termination without crew fault or prior notice, confirmed special-leave eligibility and period, no leave used, no prior payments, and three days of repatriation.
Fictional share-paid crew discharge settlement with KRW 3 million monthly fixed pay| Item | Calculation | KRW |
|---|
| Severance | 1 year, 9 months, 26 days → 2 credited years | 10,500,000 |
| Unemployment allowance | 4,350,000 × 2 | 8,700,000 |
| Termination-notice pay | Confirmed ordinary monthly wage O | 3,000,000 |
| Repatriation allowance | 4,350,000 ÷ 30 × 3 | 435,000 |
| Unused special-leave pay | 20 + 9 = 29 unused days | 2,900,000 |
| Principal total | Before prior payments; interest excluded | 25,535,000 |
With the same A, a contract-expiry case running exactly six months from 2026-04-27 to 2026-10-27 has special severance of KRW 3,500,000.
A 2026-04-28 start is short of six months and does not receive that exception.
Ordinary resignation and expiry must be distinguished even when service lengths match; the worked example is not a promised result for another contract.
The 14-day clearance rule and 20% annual delay interest
Article 55-2 provides for clearance within 14 days after the payment-triggering retirement event, with an agreed extension possible in special circumstances.
Article 55-3 and Enforcement Decree Article 17-3 set a 20% annual delay-interest basis for wages and severance.
Do not apply that rate automatically to the entire unemployment, notice and repatriation allowance total.
An extension of the payment date alone is not treated here as an automatic interest waiver.
Days and eligible principal
Retirement on 2026-10-27 gives a reference clearance deadline of 2026-11-10.
A calculation on November 10 has zero delayed days; November 11 has one day, with later interest running through the actual payment date inclusively.
Reference interest equals the sum of confirmed principal multiplied by its chargeable days, multiplied by 20% and divided by 365, rounded to KRW.
Separately entered unpaid wages are assumed to have stayed at the same balance throughout the delay period.
The separate wage field is an interest basis only; its principal is not added again to the settlement principal total.
First confirm the interest treatment of wages, including any unused leave pay, and keep outside wage claims distinct from amounts already included in the statement.
For severance already received, enter one payment date to separate interest on that paid portion from interest on the remaining balance.
Multiple payments need a chronological ledger rather than a single aggregated payment date.
For statutory exclusions such as qualifying rehabilitation or bankruptcy circumstances under Enforcement Decree Article 17-4, verify the period during which the ground existed.
If a prior severance payment and excluded days both exist, a single total of excluded days cannot allocate them between payment intervals, so interest stays pending.
Pending is not a ruling that no interest right exists.
Frequently asked questions
How is exactly one year and six months credited?
Under the standard Article 55 method, the six-month remainder after the first complete year counts as another full year, producing two credited years.
Confirm any different service-counting agreement and interim settlement separately.
Does every six-month crew member receive 20 days of severance?
The period must be at least six months and below one year, and the qualifying expiry or termination conditions must also be met.
Ordinary voluntary resignation in that period does not automatically qualify.
Can I use the 145% share-pay ratio for notice pay?
This calculator limits Article 57(2) special conversions to the enumerated severance, unemployment and repatriation items it calculates.
Notice and leave pay use separately confirmed ordinary monthly wages.
Does contract expiry automatically add two months of unemployment allowance?
Simple contract expiry differs from the three Article 37 termination grounds.
Check the agreement and notice to establish whether the owner actually terminated without responsibility attributable to the crew member.
What happens to repatriation after unauthorized departure?
The Article 38(2) categories, including departure without just cause, are exceptions to repatriation allowance, while actual cost recovery follows separate conditions.
After at least six months of service, verify the prohibition on claiming 50% or more of actual costs.
Can excess money under one item reduce severance?
The calculator matches payments within the same category and makes no automatic cross-category offset.
An excess-to-reconcile amount is not an established repayment obligation.
What if less than one year remains after interim settlement?
Enter the interim settlement and new severance start, then use confirmed severance entry after verifying how the remaining period is treated.
Statutory mode keeps that amount pending instead of establishing a zero entitlement.
Is the entire total guaranteed if the owner becomes insolvent?
Article 56 specifies a minimum protection scope covering the final four months of wages and final four years of severance.
Actual insurance, mutual-aid or fund coverage, eligibility and recognized amounts require review; every allowance is not automatically guaranteed.
Prepare sources and an itemized payment request
Official source verification date: November 9, 2026 (2026-11-09).
The promulgated Act text at MST 291275 combines a general 2027-10-28 effective date with partially effective provisions, so the current effective text was separately retrieved for 2026-10-27 and the calculation articles were compared.
The Decree is effective 2026-03-17 and the Enforcement Rule 2026-07-13; the minimum-wage notice applies from 2026-01-01 through 2026-12-31.
Recheck later amendments, agreements and the actual event date before making a claim.
Evidence checklist
- Employment and collective agreements, crew lists, original service records and interim-settlement evidence
- Fixed pay, production or share-pay settlements, ordinary-wage evidence and itemized bank payments
- Expiry or termination documents, written-notice receipt date and any business-inability recognition
- Repatriation receipts and itinerary, leave records, and a dated principal-and-interest ledger
Resolve pending facts, then give the owner a statement showing the item, legal reference, prior payment and unpaid balance.
For unresolved clearance, take supporting records to the seafarer labor-supervision function of the relevant Korean regional maritime authority.
Termination relief and insolvency protection have their own procedural requirements.
Use the separate seafarer injury calculator for accident compensation, and the general employment calculator when that legal regime applies.