What counts as an industrial accident
An industrial accident means injury or illness caused by your work. Industrial accident insurance applies even without valid visa status.
What counts
- Accidents during work — machinery, falls, cuts, burns, collisions
- Commuting accidents on a normal route
- Occupational disease — noise-induced hearing loss, musculoskeletal disorders, illness from hazardous substances
- Illness from overwork or stress — cerebrovascular and heart conditions
- Accidents during company events
Three things you must know
- The employer's consent is not required. You can apply yourself.
- It applies regardless of visa status, including if you are undocumented.
- You can be compensated even if the employer never enrolled in the insurance.
Steps
- Get treatment first. In an emergency, 119.
- Tell the hospital you are being treated as an industrial accident case.
- Apply for medical care benefit to the Workers' Compensation service, 1588-0075.
- Go through the investigation and approval.
- Receive medical costs, absence benefit and more.
What you need
- Passport and Alien Registration Card, if any
- Medical certificate and treatment records
- The circumstances (date, time, place, witnesses)
- Labour contract and pay records
- Photos of the accident site
Where to go
- 1588-0075 Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service · www.comwel.or.kr
- 1350 Ministry of Employment and Labor
- 119 emergencies
- Your local support centre for foreign workers
- 132 Korea Legal Aid Corporation
Questions people ask
The company wants to handle it privately. That means paying quietly out of company funds. If complications appear later you lose cover. File it as an industrial accident.
I have no valid status. Industrial accident insurance applies regardless. Going through a support centre makes the process safer.
The company is blocking my claim. Blocking it is itself illegal. See the accident-employer-refusal guide.
Time has passed — is it too late? There is a filing deadline. Don't give up — check with 1588-0075.
Take care
The moments right after the accident matter most. Keep site photos, witness names and contacts, and hospital records. If the company asks you to sign something to "keep it quiet", do not sign on the spot — get advice first.
Related
industrial-accident-report · industrial-accident-benefits · accident-employer-refusal · workplace-injury-first-steps
Source
Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service www.comwel.or.kr / As of 2026-08