Remote work in South Korea

Working remotely on visitor status

Law does not say clearly for remote work

The foreign ministry states a C-3 short-term visa cannot be issued for profit-making, while allowing market research, business contact and contracts. Visa-free entry and remote work for foreign employers are not specifically addressed; the workation visa exists for this.

• MOFA (overseas missions), short-term visit C-3 guidance
• Immigration Act, KLRI English translation (table of contents only; Art. 17-20 titles read, text not)

The route for remote workers

Digital Nomad (Workation) visa, F-1-D

Permanent from 30 Jun 2026. Income tiers of 1x, 1.5x or 2x the 2025 GNI per capita (KRW 52.41m), set by age and Seoul-area residence; foreign employer; age 18+; stay up to 3 years. Korean employment and profit-making activity restricted (2024 notice).

• Ministry of Justice / Immigration Service release, 7 Jul 2026 (PDF; income tiers and GNI figures read, Korean text garbled)
• Immigration Service workation visa notice, 22 Feb 2024 (pilot terms: foreign company, 1+ year experience, KRW 100m insurance, profit-making restricted)

Social security

EU/EEA coordination (A1)

No

US totalization agreement

Yes (in force 2001)

US-Korea agreement in force 1 Apr 2001. A worker sent abroad by an employer to the same or an affiliated employer, for up to 5 years, stays under the sending country's system only, with a certificate of coverage. A self-directed remote worker may not fit this rule (not verified).

• SSA POMS GN 01701.005, list of totalization agreements (Korea (South): April 1, 2001)
• SSA POMS GN 01741.001, US-Korea agreement overview and effective date
• SSA POMS RS 02001.965, detached worker rule under the Korea agreement

How these arrangements work in general is on the guide page.

What we could not verify

• The 2026 Ministry of Justice PDF text was garbled, so the 2026 insurance and experience wording could not be read. The insurance and experience terms given are the 2024 pilot terms.
• The Immigration Act text of Art. 20 (activities outside status) and the penalty articles was not read.
• The MOFA page covers the C-3 visa; no official page was found on activity limits for visa-free entrants.
• Whether the US-Korea agreement's rules fit a remote worker employed by a non-US employer was not verified.
• The stay-period structure within the 3-year maximum is read from tables in the garbled PDF and should be confirmed.