How to Answer "Expected Salary?" in a Korean Interview

How to Answer “Expected Salary?” in a Korean Interview

You’re near the end of a Korean interview and it’s going well. Then the team lead leans back and asks, almost casually, 희망 연봉은 어느 정도 생각하세요? — “What salary are you hoping for?”

Your mind goes blank. If you give a number, it might be too high or too low. If you say “whatever you think is fair,” it sounds like you never thought about it.

Today you’ll learn three ways to answer, when each one fits, and one extra line you shouldn’t skip if your next visa is an E-7.

At a glance

SituationKoreanWhen to useEnglish
Form field or first round asks your expected salary회사 내규에 따르겠습니다.Early stage, no hard minimum of your ownI’ll follow the company’s pay policy.
You want room to talk later경력과 업무 범위를 고려해서 협의 가능합니다.Open but not carelessI’m open to discussing it, considering my experience and the role.
They ask for an actual number세전 기준으로 3,500에서 3,800 정도 생각하고 있습니다.Later rounds, once you know the market rangeI’m thinking around 35 to 38 million won a year, before tax.
You need an E-7 work visaE-7 비자 임금 요건이 있어서, 연봉이 그 기준 이상인지 확인 부탁드립니다.Once there’s an offer, with HRBecause of the E-7 wage requirement, could you confirm the salary meets that level?
Checking what the number includes혹시 성과급이나 퇴직금이 포함된 금액인지 여쭤봐도 될까요?Right after you hear a figureMay I ask whether that includes bonuses or severance?

Three answers, three different signals

회사 내규에 따르겠습니다 means “I’ll follow the company’s internal rules.” It’s the classic safe answer, and you’ll often see it written in the 희망 연봉 box on Korean application forms, shortened to 회사 내규에 따름. It tells them money won’t turn into a fight. The catch is that it also hands them the whole decision.

협의 가능합니다, “it’s negotiable,” sits in the middle. On its own it can sound a little empty, so give it a reason: 경력과 업무 범위를 고려해서, considering my experience and the scope of the role. Now it sounds open and thought-through, and you’ve kept room to talk once you know more about the job.

A range is the most direct answer, and two small habits make it sound natural in Korean. First, salary talk is usually about 연봉 (annual salary) before tax, so say 세전 기준으로 up front. Second, people count money in 만 원 (units of ten thousand), so 35 million won is simply 3,500, said 삼천오백. Nobody reads out the zeros. A range like 3,500에서 3,800 정도 gives them a lane without drawing a hard line.

What to avoid: 상관없습니다 (“it doesn’t matter”) and 알아서 주세요 (“just give me whatever you think”). They feel humble in your head, but in the room they sound like you didn’t prepare.

The E-7 line you shouldn’t skip

If you’re on D-2 or D-10 and the job needs an E-7 work visa, “I’ll follow company policy” can quietly backfire, because E-7 comes with a wage requirement. The Ministry of Justice notice for 2026 puts the floor for professional E-7-1 roles at 31.12 million won a year, applied from February 1 to December 31, 2026. The other E-7 categories have their own figures, and some occupations follow separate standards. An offer below the floor for your category may not meet the visa requirement, even if you and the company are both happy with it.

So once there’s an offer, it’s completely normal to say E-7 비자 임금 요건이 있어서, 연봉이 그 기준 이상인지 확인 부탁드립니다. HR teams that hire internationals hear this all the time. It isn’t a negotiating trick. It’s paperwork.

The figures are set for a fixed period, so check the current notice the week you sign, and call 1345 if your case is unusual:

Lines you can borrow

  • 회사 내규에 따르겠습니다. — I’ll follow the company’s pay policy. (application form, first round)
  • 경력과 업무 범위를 고려해서 협의 가능합니다. — I’m open to discussing it, considering my experience and the role.
  • 세전 기준으로 3,500에서 3,800 정도 생각하고 있습니다. — Around 35 to 38 million won a year, before tax.
  • 혹시 성과급이나 퇴직금이 포함된 금액인지 여쭤봐도 될까요? — May I ask whether that figure includes bonuses or severance? (Some offers fold these into the headline number, so monthly pay ends up smaller than you expected.)
  • 실수령액 — take-home pay after tax and insurance. Useful when you compare offers at home, less so in the interview room.

Try it at work today

Look up the pay range for the role you’re applying for (job postings, your school’s career center, people already in the field), then say your range out loud in Korean once: 세전 기준으로 ___에서 ___ 정도 생각하고 있습니다. Saying 삼천오백 instead of “thirty-five million” takes a few tries, and you don’t want the first try to happen in the interview.

Salary questions feel awkward in any language. In Korean, having one calm sentence ready does most of the work.

Before your next interview: pick your answer style (내규, 협의, or a range), know your range in 만 원, and if you need an E-7, know the floor for your category.

Got an interview coming up? You can rehearse your answers with MOCKEE, an AI mock interview.

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