In general, nationals of a country who work abroad in the diplomatic or consular services of their country are exempt, under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, from Social Security coverage and taxes under the laws of the host country unless that exemption has been specifically waived. The Conventions, to which both the United States and Korea are parties, apply to:

• •

  members of the staff of a diplomatic or consular mission, including the diplomatic, consular, administrative and technical staffs,

• •

  dependents of members of those staffs who form part of the members' households,

• •

  the domestic service staffs of those missions, and

• •

  under certain conditions, the private servants employed by members of such missions.

The agreement does not affect the coverage of U.S. or Korean Government employees to whom the Vienna Conventions apply.

 

The agreement establishes the following rules for government employees not covered by the Vienna Conventions:

• •

  U.S. nationals employed by the U.S. Government in Korea are subject to U.S. law only (Social Security and FERS or CSRS).

• •

  Korean nationals employed by the Korean Government in the United States are subject to Korean law only.

 

NOTE: For purposes of applying this provision of the agreement, the term U.S. Government employee includes employees of the Federal Government or any of its instrumentalities. The term Korean Government employee includes employees of both the national and local governments in Korea.

U.S. citizens employed by foreign governments, RS 01802.050