Korea Market Insights

You can work for over a year—fourteen months, say—and walk away with zero severance pay. The employer isn't withholding it. The law excludes you. If you believed one year of employment was the only requirement, there's a second condition that can disqualify you entirely. Based on Ministry of Employment and Labor and government legal resources as of October 1, 2026. Here's who qualifies, who doesn't, the payment amount, and when it arrives. Compiled by author. One year of work. Zero severance. South Korea's Retirement Benefits Security Act sets a narrow eligibility gate: continuous employment of one year or longer, and a 4-week average of at least 15 hours per week of stipulated working hours . Miss either condition and you receive nothing. The first condition is strict. "One year" means 365 calendar days. Work 364 days and you forfeit it entirely. A one-day difference. If your employer controls your departure date, this threshold is worth...

Wednesday brought divergent signals from Wall Street. Headline indices appeared muted—except the Dow, which fell 443.87 points, or -0.86%, closing at 50,906.05 . The Nasdaq, by contrast, rose 0.24%, creating a split within the same session. Two forces drove the rift. First, inflation. August core PCE came in at 3.0%, below the expected 3.3%, pushing October rate-hike odds to 37% from above 70% just a week prior. But long-dated Treasuries moved the opposite direction: the 30-year yield climbed to 5.64% and the 10-year to 5.29%. While near-term rate-hike fears eased, longer-term borrowing costs climbed. After the close, Micron delivered the session's headline: quarterly revenue of $54.23 billion, up from $11.32 billion a year ago. That move will likely set the tone for Korean semiconductor stocks today. S&P 500 sector heat map, September 30 close. Green indicates gains; red, declines. (finviz) U.S. Markets: Dow Trails as Tech Holds Wednesday's close: Index Clo...