Legal information

Usually not. What the employer is offering is called gongsang (공상 처리): the company pays the hospital bill itself and the accident is never reported to the insurance. It sounds generous, and for a sprain that heals in a week it may cost you nothing. For anything that keeps you off work, leaves a scar or a weak joint, or comes back later, it is the worker who pays the difference, and the company that saves money.

Filing an insurance claim is your right, the employer cannot lawfully punish you for using it, and you can still file later even after accepting money privately. Here is what the offer really means and what you should not put your name on.

Why does the company want this?

Not out of kindness. A reported accident can raise the company's insurance premium, triggers a report to the safety authorities, and may bring an inspection. For a company that employs foreign workers under a permit system, a record of serious accidents can also affect its future hiring. Each of these is the company's problem, and the offer to "handle it inside" is an attempt to move that problem onto you.

Some managers are not acting in bad faith; they simply believe the paperwork is a hassle. The result for you is the same either way.

What do I lose with a private settlement?

The last two rows are the ones that hit foreign workers hardest. A private promise is only as good as your ability to go back to that office and ask for the money, and workers who change jobs, lose their visa or leave Korea rarely can.

What should I refuse to sign?

Anything in Korean that you cannot read, until someone you trust has read it to you. In particular, watch for these:

• A settlement agreement (합의서) with a line saying you give up all further claims about the accident (향후 일체의 청구를 포기한다). This is the sentence that matters. One payment now, and the door closes on treatment, lost pay and disability.
• A resignation letter (사직서), sometimes slipped in with the medical paperwork. Resigning turns a dismissal during treatment into "he quit", and it may also change what your visa allows next.
• A statement that the accident happened outside work, or that it was your own carelessness. Fault does not normally matter for the insurance, but a paper saying it did not happen at work does.
• A paper that you have "no objection" to the company (처벌불원서), before you even know what you are owed.

If you have already signed something, do not panic. A waiver signed without understanding it, or in exchange for far less than the insurance would have paid, can be challenged, and the insurance claim itself can still be filed. Keep the paper and bring it to a consultation.

Can I take the company's money and still file?

Yes. Accepting the company's payment for the hospital does not cancel the claim; it stays open for three years from the accident. What changes is the accounting: money you already received for the same loss is taken into account, so you do not get paid twice for the same hospital bill. The pay-replacement and disability benefits are untouched by the fact that the company once paid for an X-ray.

Keep a record of every won the company gives you and what it was for. "They gave me some cash" is not a record.

Can they fire me for filing?

No. The insurance law forbids the employer from dismissing a worker, or treating them worse in any other way, because the worker applied for benefits, and an employer who does so faces criminal punishment. On top of that, the general labor law bars dismissal during the period you are off work for a work injury and for 30 days after you return, except in narrow cases such as the company closing down.

"Treating you worse" includes cutting your hours, moving you to the worst shift, taking away the dormitory room or refusing to extend a contract that would otherwise have been extended. Write down each change with the date. If you are on a work permit visa, a dismissal or a contract that is not renewed also starts clocks for changing workplace, so get advice quickly rather than waiting to see what happens.

What if they say "we will report you to immigration"?

Say nothing, and record it. A threat of this kind is itself evidence that the company is trying to stop a lawful claim. Comwel handles the accident, not your visa, and the medical and lost-pay benefits are decided on the injury, not on the residence card. Workers whose status is irregular should still get advice before filing, because the facts in the claim form can matter in other proceedings, but the threat itself should not decide anything.

Next step

If a settlement paper is in front of you, do not sign it today. Estimate what the insurance would pay with our average-wage calculator, compare it with the number on the paper, and bring both to a consultation together with the hospital papers. If you have already been dismissed or pushed out after an accident, the deadlines for challenging that are short. Consultations are paid; when you contact us, a staff member will call you back and explain the fee.

법무법인 대한중앙
1533-7377

Rules applied

Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act (산업재해보상보험법) Article 36 (benefits are paid on the worker's own claim), Article 52 (lost-pay benefit at 70 percent of average wage), Article 80 (money received from the employer for the same loss is set off against the insurance benefit, and the employer's liability is reduced only up to the amount the insurance pays), Article 111-2 (no dismissal or disadvantage for applying for benefits), Article 112 (three-year limit for claiming), Article 127 (criminal penalty for an employer who breaches Article 111-2). Labor Standards Act (근로기준법) Article 23(2) (no dismissal during treatment for a work injury and for 30 days afterwards).

This is general information, not legal advice. Every case is different.