Employee vs Freelancer: the Real Take-home on the Same Income
"Freelancers only lose 3.3%, so they take home more" is only half true in Korea. Employees have four social insurances (pension 4.75%, health 3.595%, long-term care, employment) and income tax withheld monthly, but year-end settlement mostly closes their books. Freelancers see only 3.3% withheld upfront — a bigger deposit — yet the May comprehensive income tax return and regional health insurance and pension bills come later. This calculator shows both the immediate and the fully-settled real monthly take-home side by side.
The employee side reuses the 2026-rate approximation of the salary calculator (no non-taxable allowance, no dependents). On a 50M KRW salary, about 400K of insurance and 260K of tax leave roughly 3.51M KRW per month. The freelancer side deducts the expense rate (default 60%, approximating the simplified expense rate for personal services) from revenue, applies progressive tax rates, and adds regional pension (full 9.5%, floor/cap applied) and regional health insurance (≈7.19% of income) for the real annual burden.
At 50M KRW per year, a freelancer initially banks about 4.03M per month — 520K more than the employee. After about 1.28M of comprehensive tax (a ~370K refund against withholding), 1.9M of regional pension, and 1.63M of regional health insurance annually, the real figure drops to about 3.77M per month. Still ahead by roughly 260K, but employees separately accrue about one month of salary per year in severance (worth ~350K/month) plus unemployment coverage — which this margin does not include.
This is a rough simulation. Actual freelancer taxes depend on which expense method applies, real bookkeeping, and tax credits; regional premiums also reflect property and vehicles. Consult a tax professional before decisions like going freelance or negotiating contract types. For the withholding itself, see the 3.3% calculator; for detailed payroll deductions, the salary take-home calculator.