How to Apply for Industrial Accident Insurance (산재) When You Get Hurt at Work

When Does This Apply?

• You got hurt during work by a machine, tool, vehicle, fall, burn, etc.
• You got hurt inside the company while doing something related to your work.
• Your back, shoulder or wrist hurts because you repeated the same work for a long time.
• You got sick because of harmful chemicals, dust, noise or heat.
• You had an accident on the way to or from work.

Medical care benefits (요양급여) are paid when the injury or illness does not heal within 3 days. If it heals within 3 days, it is not 산재. Instead, the company must pay compensation for it.

Steps

1. Get treatment first. If it is an emergency, call 119. At the hospital, always say "I got hurt at work." When you say this, it is written in your medical record.
2. Keep evidence. Take photos or videos of your injury, the machine and the place where you worked. Write down the names and phone numbers of coworkers who saw it happen.
3. Tell your employer. It is good to tell them, but you can still apply even if the employer is against it.
4. Fill out the 요양급여신청서 (application form for medical care benefits). Write your personal information, the workplace name and how the accident happened. Get a 요양급여신청소견서 (doctor's opinion form for medical care benefits) from the hospital and submit it together.
5. Submit it to 근로복지공단. You can submit it in person at the 근로복지공단 branch office in charge of your workplace area. Or you can submit it online through the Employment and Industrial Accident Insurance Total Service (고용·산재보험 토탈서비스). The hospital (a hospital that works with industrial accident insurance) can also apply for you, if you agree. Tell the hospital's administration office (원무과), "I want to register this as 산재." They will help you.
6. Wait for the decision. As a rule, 근로복지공단 decides whether to approve it within 7 days from the day it receives your application. But it can take longer if they need to investigate the workplace or review an illness.
7. If approved, 근로복지공단 pays your medical costs directly to the hospital. If you already paid medical costs yourself, you can get that money back later.

What to Prepare

• 외국인등록증 (Alien Registration Card), passport
• Copy of a bank book in your own name
• Company name, address and workplace management number (사업장관리번호) (if you do not know it, 근로복지공단 will check it for you)
• Photos of the accident, contact information of witnesses
• Hospital medical records, medical certificate (진단서)

Money You Can Receive

• Medical care benefit (요양급여): This is your medical costs. 근로복지공단 pays the hospital directly.
• Temporary disability benefit (휴업급여): For the days you cannot work because of treatment, you get 70% of your average daily wage per day.
• Disability benefit (장해급여): If your body still has a lasting disability after treatment ends, you get a pension (monthly payments) or a one-time payment, depending on the disability grade.
• Survivors' benefit and funeral costs: If a worker dies because of work, the family receives this. Funeral costs are 120 days of average wage.
• Nursing care benefit (간병급여) and vocational rehabilitation benefit (직업재활급여) are also available, depending on conditions.

Things to Be Careful About

• Be careful of "공상 처리" (gongsang processing). This is when the employer does not report the accident to the insurance, and says they will only pay your medical costs with their own money. If this happens, you may not get the temporary disability benefit, the disability benefit, or treatment if the injury comes back later. Before you sign any agreement, it is safer to ask 근로복지공단 or 1350 first.
• If an employer hides an industrial accident, it breaks the Occupational Safety and Health Act (산업안전보건법).
• Even if the company did not register for industrial accident insurance, you can still get compensation. In this case, the employer must pay the insurance fees and part of the benefits later.
• It is forbidden to fire you or treat you unfairly because you applied for 산재.
• There are time limits to claim. For medical care benefits and temporary disability benefits, the right to claim ends after 3 years. For disability benefits, it ends after 5 years.
• When you submit documents, always keep a copy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. My boss will not let me apply for 산재. A. Applying for 산재 is the worker's right. You can apply without the employer's confirmation or stamp. 근로복지공단 asks the employer for their opinion, but even if the employer is against it, 근로복지공단 investigates and decides.

Q. Can I apply even if I do not have legal stay status? A. If you actually worked and received wages, you can be covered by industrial accident insurance. A court has also accepted a claim for medical care benefits from a foreigner who did not have permission to work.

Q. I paid the hospital bills with my own money. A. Keep all your receipts. If your 산재 is approved, you can get the money back.

Q. Can I still apply after I quit the company? A. Yes. Even if you quit, you can apply within the time limit if the accident happened while you were working there.

Q. I cannot speak Korean. How do I apply? A. You can ask for help at the hospital's administration office (원무과) or at 고용센터 (Employment Center). If you need an interpreter, call 1345 (외국인종합안내센터, Immigration Contact Center) and ask for three-way call interpretation.

Where to Get Help

• 근로복지공단: 1588-0075 / www.comwel.or.kr
• 고용노동부 (Ministry of Employment and Labor) Customer Counseling Center: 1350 (weekdays 09:00~18:00)
• 외국인종합안내센터 (Immigration Contact Center): 1345 (counseling in many languages, three-way call interpretation)
• Emergency: 119