K-Mate

Guides

Hurt at Work: Workers' Compensation and Company Refusal

Last checked: 2026-11-03

This article was translated by AI. If anything differs, the Korean original prevails. Read the Korean original

If you are hurt at work, treatment comes first. Then you can apply for industrial accident compensation insurance (산재보험). It is not the company but the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service (근로복지공단) that investigates and decides whether it counts as a work accident.

What to do right after the accident

  1. If it is urgent, call 119 right away.
  2. Tell the hospital clearly that you were hurt at work.
  3. Write down the date, time and place of the accident and what you were doing. Take photos, and also keep the contact details of anyone who saw it.
  4. Keep your medical certificate, receipts, and your conversations with the company.

How to apply

While you wait for the decision, you can first get treatment with health insurance. If it is later recognized as a work accident, you can claim back the matching amount of what you paid.

  1. Prepare the medical care benefit application (요양급여신청서) and a doctor's opinion.
  2. Submit them to the branch of the Service in charge of your workplace. You can also submit online through the Employment and Industrial Accident Insurance Total Service (고용·산재보험 토탈서비스).
  3. If the place treating you is an industrial accident insurance medical institution, the hospital can apply for you when you agree.
  4. The Service hears the company's opinion and makes a decision. In principle the decision comes within 7 days, and the investigation period and similar time do not count in those 7 days.

What can I receive?

If the company refuses

You can apply for workers' compensation yourself. Since 2018, the application form no longer has a box for the employer's confirmation. You can submit the form even if the company does not acknowledge the accident.

Even if the company did not enroll in the insurance, you can apply if the workplace is covered. It is prohibited to treat you unfavorably because you applied. If this happens, ask the Ministry of Employment and Labor (고용노동부).

Can foreigners apply too?

In principle, the insurance applies regardless of nationality. In a 2022 explanatory document, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said it does not discriminate by stay status, and that people can receive treatment and compensation without distinguishing legal from illegal status.

However, the same document explained that the Service submits materials if an immigration office requests them. If you are worried about your stay status, ask the Foreigner Support Center (외국인종합안내센터).

Some small farming and fishing businesses may not be covered. A labor attaché at a foreign embassy in Korea may also be able to apply for you for free.

Where to ask

Call the customer center of the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service. If you say you want to apply for workers' compensation, there is a service where staff call you back or visit to help.

Please check

Even if the company says "let's not file for work accident compensation," the right to apply is yours. Before you decide, ask the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service first.

Ask by phone

Fire and ambulance119
Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service (근로복지공단)1588-0075
Ministry of Employment and Labor Customer Counseling Center (고용노동부 고객상담센터)1350
Foreigner Support Center (외국인종합안내센터)1345

Official sources

This is general information. Your situation may differ, so please confirm with the official agency. Report a mistake

More guides

Life in Korea, with K-MateUse a translating messenger, life guides and meetups in your language.
Open K-Mate