https://koreamoneyguide.com/updates/ Changes that affect money matters for foreigners in Korea, each with its sources and the date it was read. en Mon, 12 Oct 2026 15:00:00 GMT https://koreamoneyguide.com/updates/#climate-card-ended-everyones-card https://koreamoneyguide.com/updates/#climate-card-ended-everyones-card Mon, 12 Oct 2026 15:00:00 GMT Transit & visiting The prepaid 30-day Climate Card took its last top-up on August 31, 2026 and stopped working after September 29. Seoul folded its monthly pass into the national Everyone’s Card (모두의카드, the renamed K-Pass): you pay fares as usual with a registered card, ride at least 15 times a month, and part of what you spent comes back the following month. Seoul residents get the extra Climate Card Plus benefits on top. The 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7-day visitor passes continue unchanged. • If you commuted on the monthly pass, nothing is being discounted right now: you are back to paying per ride until you register for Everyone’s Card. • Everyone’s Card is open to foreign residents aged 19 or over who live in a participating city or province (the official site says “외국인도 OK”), but only after you sign up on its website or app. The card alone earns nothing. • Refunds need at least 15 rides in a month (the first month is exempt) and arrive through your card company the following month, so the saving shows up with a delay. https://koreamoneyguide.com/updates/#payroll-rates-2026 https://koreamoneyguide.com/updates/#payroll-rates-2026 Thu, 27 Aug 2026 15:00:00 GMT Salary & Tax For 2026 the national pension rate rose from 9% to 9.5% (your half: 4.5% → 4.75%). That is its first change since 1998, and the start of an eight-year climb to 13% in 2033. Health insurance rose from 7.09% to 7.19% (your half: 3.545% → 3.595%), and long-term care from 12.95% to 13.14% of the health premium. Together your side of the four insurances is now about 9.72% of pay. • Payroll systems that were never updated keep deducting last year’s rates. The gap is small each month, so it is easy to miss for a whole year. • The pension ceiling also moved: only income up to ₩6,590,000 a month counts, so the most that can come out for pension is ₩313,025. • Expect take-home to dip slightly every January through 2033 as the pension rate steps up another half point. https://koreamoneyguide.com/updates/#daehangryeok-same-day-reform https://koreamoneyguide.com/updates/#daehangryeok-same-day-reform Thu, 27 Aug 2026 15:00:00 GMT Housing A tenant’s 대항력 (the right to stay on even if the home is sold) currently begins at 00:00 the day after the move-in report, while a mortgage takes effect the moment it is filed. Landlords have used that gap to borrow against a home ahead of the tenant. On March 10, 2026 the government published a cross-ministry anti-fraud package proposing that 대항력 start as soon as the report is processed. The amending bill went to the National Assembly, and as of August 28, 2026 the Act still reads “from the following day”. Nothing has changed yet. • On the day you pay the balance, move in and register, a loan registered that same day still ranks ahead of your deposit. • As a registered foreign resident you file a 체류지 변경신고 (change-of-residence report) instead of the Korean 전입신고 (move-in report). The same next-day rule applies, and so does the same gap. • Immigration allows 15 days to report a move; your deposit gets no grace period at all. Every day before you file is unprotected. https://koreamoneyguide.com/updates/#minimum-wage-2027 https://koreamoneyguide.com/updates/#minimum-wage-2027 Mon, 24 Aug 2026 15:00:00 GMT Salary & Tax The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced the 2027 minimum wage on August 5, 2026: ₩10,700 per hour, up ₩380 (3.7%) from 2026’s ₩10,320. It applies to every industry and takes effect on January 1, 2027. Foreign workers are covered on the same terms as Korean workers. • The minimum wage is a floor, not a suggestion. It applies to foreign workers on the same terms, whatever your visa says. • The official monthly conversion is ₩2,236,300 (based on a 40-hour week / 209 hours a month). That is the number to compare your contract against. • It is a gross figure: national pension, health insurance, employment insurance, and income tax still come out before the money reaches your account. https://koreamoneyguide.com/updates/#high-oil-price-relief-payment https://koreamoneyguide.com/updates/#high-oil-price-relief-payment Sun, 23 Aug 2026 15:00:00 GMT Salary & Tax The application windows have closed (the second round ended July 3, 2026). The use deadline was August 31, 2026, and unused amounts were scheduled to expire after that date. If you still hold a balance, check with the app or card you received it on whether anything remains usable. • That August 31 deadline has now passed, so a balance that still shows in the app may already be unusable. • Where and how the payment can be spent differs by local government and payment channel. • Support-payment messages are still a smishing hook. Treat any “extend your funds” or “re-apply” link as suspect. https://koreamoneyguide.com/updates/#mobile-residence-card-bank-account https://koreamoneyguide.com/updates/#mobile-residence-card-bank-account Wed, 27 May 2026 15:00:00 GMT Banking Since March 21, 2025, six Korean banks have accepted the mobile residence card (the phone version of your ARC) for opening accounts and everyday transactions. • Once you have your ARC, a phone number, and an address, the bank account is usually the next thing that stalls. • If the bank, branch, app, and identity check all support it, a mobile residence card may make this easier. • Don’t assume every bank, branch, or app flow accepts the mobile card the same way. Ask the bank what it accepts before you rely on one document: which ID, which phone number, which app, and what proof of why you want the account. https://koreamoneyguide.com/updates/#krw-rent-remittance https://koreamoneyguide.com/updates/#krw-rent-remittance Wed, 27 May 2026 15:00:00 GMT Transfers When the won moves fast, check your rent deposit, salary, and remittance plans against the latest quote before you move any money. • The same won amount can feel different once you convert it to your home currency. A rent deposit or move-in cash is often one large payment. • Remittance providers may show different rates and fees, and their quotes stay valid for different lengths of time. • A small exchange-rate difference can matter more on a rent deposit, tuition, family support, or a moving budget. When the rate leaves you feeling rushed, a scam message can be easier to fall for. https://koreamoneyguide.com/updates/#fake-support-payment-links https://koreamoneyguide.com/updates/#fake-support-payment-links Wed, 27 May 2026 15:00:00 GMT Safety If a message wants your OTP, an app install, an urgent transfer, or a photo of your ID, stop and check through an official channel yourself. • Real support programs may exist, and that is what makes a fake message easy to believe. • Scam messages often ask for information that official pages should not request through random texts. • You may not know right away whether a Korean sender name, a short link, or official-sounding wording is normal here.