Foreign Workers' Industrial Accidents

A foreign workers' industrial accident refers to an industrial accident that occurs when a foreign worker employed in the Republic of Korea is injured or dies due to a work-related accident or illness.

Even an illegal resident can file an industrial accident claim, and a foreign workers' industrial accident claim can proceed without the employer's consent.

Because industrial accident compensation is judged based on ‘work-relatedness’ rather than residency status, not only lawfully residing foreigners such as those on E-9 (foreign worker) status, but also unregistered (illegal) resident foreign workers, day laborers, and workers at construction, manufacturing, and agricultural/livestock sites are all subject to the protection of foreign workers' industrial accident insurance.

Supreme Court precedent likewise takes the position that even where there is no residency status, labor-law protection must be provided for de facto labor that has already been rendered, so the right to claim foreign workers' industrial accident compensation is stably guaranteed separately from status-related issues.

If a foreign workers' industrial accident compensation claim is approved, you can receive a variety of benefits, as follows.

• Medical care benefits : Treatment costs, surgery costs, hospitalization costs, and the like are fully borne by the Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service (excluding non-covered items)
• Temporary disability benefits : Income loss arising from being unable to work during the treatment period is compensated at a level of 70% of the average wage
• Disability benefits : If a permanent residual disability remains after the treatment is concluded, this is paid as a lump sum or a pension
• Nursing benefits : If a condition requiring nursing care is recognized, the nursing costs actually incurred are paid
• Survivors' benefits and funeral expenses : In the case of death due to a work-related accident or illness, a pension or lump sum and funeral costs are paid to the surviving family

As such, foreign workers' industrial accident compensation items extend beyond simple treatment costs to broadly cover income loss, residual disability, and death, so an accurate claim strategy is more important than anything.

Because every workplace that employs foreign workers is in principle subject to mandatory industrial accident insurance enrollment, the employer cannot be free from legal liability when a foreign workers' industrial accident occurs.

With the exception of certain excluded workplaces such as domestic service businesses and agriculture, forestry, and fisheries with fewer than 5 regular employees, a workplace that employs foreign workers is, without exception, a mandatory enrollment target and must file an establishment report with the Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service within 14 days of the business commencement date.

If a foreign workers' industrial accident case occurs while the employer has neglected to file the industrial accident insurance establishment report, the Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service additionally collects 50% of the insurance benefit amount paid to the worker from the employer as a benefit collection charge.

A cap is in place so that the collection charge does not exceed 5 times the industrial accident insurance premium; however, separately from this, the insurance premiums for the non-enrollment period, late-payment charges, and a fine for negligence due to the delayed establishment report are also imposed together.

There are many cases where, even though a foreign workers' industrial accident has occurred, the worker suffers a disadvantage because the language barrier prevents them from accurately explaining the cause of the accident and the unsafe conditions at the accident site.

Daeryun's Foreign Litigation Center has experts holding numerous foreign attorney qualifications and personnel who can provide multilingual consultations in English, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and more, so we can assist with everything from the consultation to responding to the Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service and appearing in court.

In addition, attorneys specializing in labor cases such as industrial accidents and serious accidents, labor attorneys dedicated to obtaining industrial accident approvals, and immigration specialist attorneys in charge of forced deportation, visa extensions, and residency status changes proceed with the case as one team.

Through this, resolving not only the receipt of foreign workers' industrial accident compensation but also the visa issue at the same time, so that the client can stay in Korea with peace of mind during the treatment period, is a strength unique to the Foreign Litigation Center.

In particular, because we operate not only a main office in Seoul but also branch offices in provinces nationwide, we can conduct rapid on-site investigation and evidence collection even if an accident occurs at any construction site, manufacturing plant, or agricultural/livestock site anywhere in the country.

If you are suffering emotionally because of a foreign workers' industrial accident case, we encourage both workers and employers to start with a consultation with the experts at the Foreign Litigation Center without hesitation.