Last verified: September 22, 2026 · industrial-accident coverage, claims, temporary-disability benefits and dismissal protection checked against current Korean law and official guidance.
If you are hurt at work in Korea, treatment comes before an argument about who is responsible.
Get necessary medical care, make sure the circumstances of the accident are recorded, and preserve evidence while it is still available. Foreign workers are in principle protected by Korea's Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance system when the law applies to the work and workplace.
Call 119 or go to an emergency department. Tell the medical staff that the injury happened while you were working.
Do not delay necessary treatment while waiting for a manager to decide whether the company wants to call the case an industrial accident.
1. Preserve the accident record early
Tell the employer promptly, but keep your own copies. A company accident form should not be the only record of what happened.
2. Foreign nationality does not by itself block compensation
The Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act applies in principle to workplaces using workers. Foreign nationality by itself is not a reason to deny industrial-accident insurance benefits.
There are statutory exclusions, including certain work already covered by separate compensation laws and some small non-corporate agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting businesses.
Some foreign workers work in sectors where the ordinary Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act has specific statutory exclusions. Check the exact workplace rather than assuming that all farms or fisheries are treated identically.
3. The employer does not have the final say on your claim
Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service decides whether the injury or disease qualifies. The employer's refusal to call an accident “industrial” does not itself decide the case.
Medical records, work records, witness accounts and the circumstances of the accident are more important than an informal workplace label.
4. Industrial accidents include more than visible factory injuries
| Type | Examples | Main question |
|---|---|---|
| Workplace accident | Fall, machinery injury, collision, burn, cut or crush injury | Did it arise while performing work? |
| Facility-related accident | Accident involving workplace facilities or equipment | What was the connection to the workplace? |
| Occupational disease | Chemical exposure, repetitive strain or other recognized disease | Can work-related causation be established? |
| Work-related mental illness | Qualifying illness linked to work-related psychological stress | Medical and work evidence are both important |
| Commuting accident | Qualifying accident during ordinary commuting | Did the route and circumstances satisfy the statutory rules? |
5. The usual process begins with medical-care benefits
6. Compensation can cover more than treatment
The ordinary temporary-disability benefit starts from 70% of average wage per day for a qualifying period in which treatment prevents the worker from working. Additional rules and exceptions can change the final amount.
7. Keep every medical receipt and document
An injury can reach the hospital before an industrial-accident claim is approved. Tell medical staff that the condition may be work-related and keep the diagnosis, treatment record and receipts.
Do not assume that paying a medical bill yourself at the beginning permanently prevents an industrial-accident claim.
8. The treatment period has dismissal protection
The Labor Standards Act prohibits dismissal during a period when a worker is absent for treatment of an occupational injury or disease and for 30 days afterward, subject to statutory exceptions.
This protection does not mean every employment question is automatically resolved. Fixed-term contracts, business closure and disputes about the status of the injury can create separate issues.
9. Keep the immigration question separate
KCOMWEL handles industrial-accident compensation. Immigration authorities handle status of stay and workplace permission.
If an injury affects your employment or period of stay, contact 1345 for immigration guidance. For KCOMWEL, the current call-center number is 1588-0075.
Related Video: Industrial Accidents Among Migrant Workers
This Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs video has English subtitles. It explains why industrial-accident fatalities among migrant workers require separate attention in Korea.
Sources
- Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service
- Korea Law Information Center — Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act
- Easy Law — industrial-accident compensation guidance
- Labor Standards Act Article 23 — dismissal protection
- KIHASA — migrant workers and industrial-accident fatalities
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