My E-9 work period is ending. Can I work in Korea again?

Usually yes, but only through a route your employer has to start while you are still here. Under the employment permit system your work period runs for 3 years from the day you entered, and it can be extended once for less than 2 years if your employer asks for re-employment permission before those 3 years run out. After you go home you cannot normally be hired again under the same system until 6 months have passed. There is a shorter route: if your employer applies for a re-entry employment permit before your extended period ends, and your case meets the conditions, you may come back to work 1 month after departure. That shorter route can be used once.

How long is my work period, and who extends it?

The 3 years are counted from your entry, not from your first day at the company. The extension is not automatic and it is not something you can file by yourself: the employer who holds the employment permit has to request re-employment permission from the labour ministry (고용노동부) before the 3 years expire and before you leave Korea. The law caps that single extension at less than 2 years, and the length actually granted is fixed administratively, so ask the job centre (고용센터) for the figure that applies to your case rather than relying on what a colleague was given.

A separate provision lets the ministry add up to 1 year for everyone when an epidemic or a disaster makes entry and departure impossible. That is a general measure, not something you apply for.

What are the two waiting periods?

Which conditions does the 1 month route have?

All of them have to fit, which is why many workers find out too late that they do not qualify:

1. You finished the extended work period, and the employer applied before you left.
2. Either you never moved to another business during your work period, or you moved for one of the reasons the law allows and you meet the length of service and same industry standards the ministry publishes.
3. Where you moved for a reason that was not your employer's fault, your contract with the employer who applies has to run for at least 1 year to the end of the work period.
4. The workplace is in a business the policy committee treats as unable to hire Korean workers.
5. You have signed a contract of at least 1 year with that employer, taking effect on the day you start work after re-entry.

Because the standards in point 2 are published by the ministry and change, treat a workplace move as something to check before you agree to it, not after.

Does the job centre tell me whether I qualify?

The job centre processes the employer's application, so that is where the answer comes from. Two things are worth doing yourself. Write down every workplace you have worked at with the exact dates, because the same industry test is applied to those dates. Keep the copy of each contract you signed, including the one for the period after re-entry, since the 1 year requirement is read off the contract and not off a promise.

What if my employer will not apply?

Nothing in the law lets you force an employer to file, and an employer who has closed down or lost its permit cannot file at all. In that case the realistic options are to go home and return after the 6 month bar, to check whether a different status fits your qualifications, or to ask whether another employer in the same industry is willing to apply for you while you are still working. A lawyer can tell you which of these your record actually supports before you buy a ticket.

What must be settled before I fly out?

• Money owed to you. The employer has a duty to clear wages and other payments before you return home. Deal with it while you are still in the country; chasing it from abroad costs more.
• Your departure paperwork. Check whether your residence card has to be handed in at the airport or kept because you hold a re-entry permit.
• A Korean bank account you can still use, and someone with written authority to act for you if anything is outstanding.
• Your own copies. Contracts, payslips, the extension decision and the re-entry application receipt, photographed and stored where you can reach them from your country.

Next step

Make a one page timeline: entry date, every workplace with start and end dates, the date your current period ends, and whether your employer has filed anything. That page is what tells a lawyer in minutes whether the 1 month route is open to you or whether you are planning around the 6 month bar. Consultations are charged; when you call, our staff will tell you the fee before any appointment is made.

법무법인 대한중앙
1533-7377

Rules applied

Act on the Employment, Etc. of Foreign Workers (외국인근로자의 고용 등에 관한 법률) Article 18 (work period of 3 years from entry), Article 18-2(1) (one extension of less than 2 years where the employer requests re-employment permission before the 3 years expire and before departure) and (2) (up to 1 year where an epidemic or disaster prevents entry and departure), Article 18-3 (no re-employment under this Act until 6 months after departure, excluding workers under Article 12(1)), Article 18-4(1) items 1 to 3 (re-entry employment 1 month after departure: employer applies before the extended period ends, no workplace change or a permitted change meeting the ministry standards, a business the policy committee designates, and a contract of at least 1 year effective from the day work restarts), (3) (allowed once; Articles 18, 18-2 and 25 apply again after re-entry), Article 16 (employer must settle wages and other money before the worker returns home), Article 17(1) (employer's report on termination or important changes). Named without article numbers: 출입국관리법 (근무처 변경허가, 고용 변동 신고), 고용노동부 고시 기준.

This is general information, not legal advice. Every case is different.