Can my Korean employer fire me while I am being treated for a work injury?

No. While you are off work for treatment of a work injury or illness, and for 30 days after that period ends, Korean law forbids dismissal. A separate rule forbids firing or punishing you because you applied for industrial accident benefits (산재 보험급여). The law allows only two narrow exceptions, both explained below. An employer who ignores this can face criminal punishment, and the dismissal can be reversed.

How long does the protection last?

The clock runs on the time you were actually absent for treatment, not on the calendar of your medical certificate. If you went back to work and received outpatient treatment on the side, that outpatient period may not count as "off work" in the eyes of a court, so the 30-day count may start earlier than you think. Keep a record of the exact days you were absent.

What are the two exceptions?

The article itself names them:

1. Lump-sum compensation (일시보상). If treatment has lasted two years and you are still not cured, the employer may pay a lump sum of 1,340 days of average wage and be released from further duties, which also ends this protection. Under the insurance system, a worker who has been receiving the injury and disease pension (상병보상연금) for the three years after treatment started is treated as if that lump sum had been paid. 2. The business cannot continue. Real closure, not a reorganisation or "we have fewer orders now."

Neither exception appears in a normal case of a worker with a broken arm or back injury treated for a few months.

What about being fired because I filed a claim?

Dismissal or any disadvantage because you applied for benefits is banned in the insurance law itself, with no time limit attached. "Disadvantage" is wider than dismissal: a cut in hours, a move to a worse job, pressure to resign, or eviction from the company dormitory can all fall under it. This rule is why an employer who says "if you file, you are out" is making a threat the law already answers.

Is a contract ending the same as dismissal?

Not automatically, and this is the point that hits foreign workers hardest. If your fixed-term contract or your E-9 employment period ends during treatment, the employer may say the relationship simply expired. Korean courts generally treat the natural end of a fixed term as not being a dismissal, so the protection above may not stop it. What you keep in that situation:

• insurance benefits continue after the contract ends; treatment and wage replacement do not depend on still being employed
• severance pay for the years worked, if you were employed one year or more
• the right to question whether the term "really" ended, for example when the employer renewed everyone else and let only your contract lapse right after the accident

If your visa period is also running out during treatment, ask about a stay extension for medical treatment before it expires. That is an immigration question with its own paperwork and should be raised early, not in the last week.

Does the protection apply at a very small workplace?

The protection against dismissal during treatment is generally understood to apply even at workplaces with fewer than 5 workers, because it is one of the provisions extended to small businesses by decree. The remedy, however, differs: the Labor Relations Commission (노동위원회) route described below is normally open only where the workplace has 5 or more workers. At a smaller workplace, the tools are a complaint to the labor office and a civil claim.

What can I do if I was dismissed anyway?

1. Ask for the written notice. A dismissal is valid only if the reason and the date are given in writing. If you were told by phone or text, say in writing that you have received no proper notice. 2. Apply to the Labor Relations Commission within 3 months of the dismissal for a remedy order (부당해고 구제신청). The commission can order reinstatement and back pay for the period you were kept out. 3. Report to the regional labor office (지방고용노동청). Dismissal during the protected period carries a penalty of up to 5 years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won under the Labor Standards Act; dismissal for filing a claim carries up to 2 years or 20 million won under the insurance law. 4. Keep claiming benefits. The insurance body, not the employer, pays treatment and wage replacement, so the dismissal does not stop them.

Interpreter support at the commission and the labor office can be requested, and a representative can file for you if your Korean is limited.

Will I go back to the same job?

The law does not force the employer to offer you lighter work, but it does stop them from using the injury as a reason to end the relationship during the protected window. Your days off for treatment also count as days worked when annual leave is calculated, so you do not lose leave for the next year. If you cannot do the old job at all after recovery, that becomes a question of disability benefits and, for E-9 workers, of a workplace change for reasons not caused by you.

Next step

If you have received a dismissal notice, or pressure to resign, while on treatment, note the date you first went off work and the date of the notice. Those two dates decide whether you are inside the protected period. Consultations are paid; contact us and a staff member will call you back and explain the fee.

법무법인 대한중앙
1533-7377

Rules applied

Labor Standards Act (근로기준법) Article 23(2) (no dismissal during treatment absence and 30 days after; exceptions for lump-sum compensation under Article 84 and inability to continue the business), Article 84 (lump sum of 1,340 days of average wage after 2 years of treatment), Article 27 (written notice required for validity), Article 28 (remedy application within 3 months), Article 60(6) (treatment absence counts as attendance for annual leave), Article 107 (penalty for violating Article 23(2)). Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act (산업재해보상보험법) Article 111의2 (no dismissal or disadvantage for applying for benefits), Article 127(3)3 (penalty), Article 80(4) (3 years of injury and disease pension treated as lump-sum compensation).

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