Eligible prior-year bonuses and pay for certain unused leave are prorated by three twelfths into the three-month wage total used for average wage.
Why three twelfths?
Average wage uses a three-month period. Annual bonus and eligible annual-leave pay are apportioned to that period by multiplying the qualifying prior-year amount by 3 ÷ 12. Reference wage total = three months of wages + bonus × 3/12 + leave pay × 3/12.
Bonuses
Identify bonuses paid during the relevant 12 months and whether they are wages for this purpose. A discretionary or differently structured payment may need separate legal analysis.
Annual-leave pay
The relevant amount is generally pay for unused leave earned in the prior leave year and paid in the reference year. Payment for leave newly settled because employment ends is not automatically added to the prior three-month average-wage base.
Example
A KRW 4.8 million qualifying annual bonus contributes KRW 1.2 million to the three-month wage total under a 3/12 allocation. Divide the resulting total by calendar days in the average-wage period before applying the severance formula.