Korea's four major social insurances

Summary

Korea’s four major social insurance systems are National Health Insurance, National Pension, Employment Insurance, and Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance. Foreign nationals may be covered, but the rule can depend on visa, employment status, nationality, reciprocity, and a social security agreement.

1. National Health Insurance

• A foreign employee at a covered workplace may be employee-insured.
• A foreign resident who is not employee-insured generally enters regional coverage after six months, subject to the current residence and visa rules.
• Certain statuses have different acquisition dates, including some permanent-residence, marriage, employment, study, and training categories.

Confirm the exact date and category with the National Health Insurance Service.

2. National Pension

Foreign nationals can be covered by the Korean National Pension, but exemptions and benefits can depend on the law of the home country and any social security agreement.

Lump-sum refunds

The National Pension Service’s official list dated 2026-01-01 states that eligibility can arise through one of three routes:¹

1. Visa route: insured periods under E-8, E-9, or H-2 can qualify regardless of nationality.
2. Social security agreement: the current NPS list identifies 24 countries under this route.
3. Reciprocity: the current list identifies 25 countries, with some minimum contribution-period rules.

Do not decide from nationality alone. A social security agreement may focus on totalising contribution periods or avoiding double coverage rather than giving the same refund in every case. Receiving a refund can also affect whether the same insured period can later be used for a pension.

Use the official NPS 2026 country and visa table and ask NPS to confirm your case.

3. Employment Insurance

Coverage can differ by visa and may be automatic for some groups and application-based for others. General employee exclusions can also apply. Ask the employer and the responsible employment authority whether all parts of Employment Insurance apply or whether a separate application is required.²

4. Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance

Workers’ compensation focuses on whether a person is a worker and whether an injury, disease, disability, or death is work-related. It is different from private accident insurance and from the dedicated EPS Accident Insurance.³

If an injury happened because of work, do not let the question stop at “Did you buy private accident insurance?” Ask whether it must be reported and claimed as an industrial accident.

What to verify

• Am I employee-insured or regionally insured under National Health Insurance?
• Does my nationality, visa, or social security agreement change National Pension coverage or refund rights?
• Is Employment Insurance automatic or application-based for my visa?
• Is an injury work-related, and has it been reported through the workers’ compensation process?

Official English help

• NHIS English — 1577-1000 (extension 6) or 033-811-2000
• NPS English — language-specific contact numbers are listed on the official site
• NPS lump-sum refund for foreigners
• Immigration Contact Center 1345