In short: Whether a foreign employee in Korea is enrolled in each of the four social insurances depends on which insurance you are asking about, and for some, on residence status or reciprocity. National Health Insurance and Industrial Accident Insurance follow largely the same rules as for Korean employees. National Pension and Employment Insurance carve out specific conditions and, for Employment Insurance, specific visa categories, that this article sets out article by article.
This article is for a foreign employee working in Korea who wants to know, from the statute itself, which of the four insurances apply, and why.
The four insurances at a glance
| Insurance | Mandatory for a foreign employee? | Legal basis | Exceptions in the Act |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Health Insurance | Yes, as an employee-insured person, once a residence-registration condition is met and does not fall under an exclusion in Article 6(2) of the Act | National Health Insurance Act Art. 109(2) | Excluded if the person’s stay violates the law under grounds set by Presidential Decree, or if the person opts out because of equivalent overseas medical coverage (Art. 109(5)) |
| National Pension | Yes, as a workplace-based or individually insured person | National Pension Act Art. 126(1) | Not applied if the home country’s law does not extend an equivalent pension to Korean nationals (reciprocity), or to a person the Presidential Decree excludes |
| Employment Insurance | Depends on visa category | Employment Insurance Act Art. 10-2; Enforcement Decree Art. 3-3 | Mandatory in full for some visa categories, voluntary (application required) for others — see the table below |
| Industrial Accident Insurance | Yes, at any covered workplace | Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act Art. 6 | No nationality condition; only the businesses listed in Enforcement Decree Art. 2(1) are excluded |
A note on translations: the official English translation of the National Health Insurance Act matches the Korean text now in force, and the National Pension Act’s English version reflects its May 26, 2026 amendment, while the Korean text now in force reflects the amendment of October 20, 2026, which reorganized Article 126, so paragraphs (2)-(4) of Article 126 in the English version correspond to paragraphs (3)-(5) of the current Korean text. The Employment Insurance Act’s English version reflects the amendment of November 11, 2025, while the Korean text in force was promulgated March 17, 2026 (provisions in force from September 18, 2026; its change to Article 10 takes effect January 1, 2027, as described below, and Article 10-2 is unchanged); the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act’s English version reflects November 11, 2025, while the Korean text in force was promulgated February 19, 2026 (effective July 1, 2026).
National Health Insurance: enrolled the same way, once you are registered
A foreign national or overseas Korean national residing in Korea (the Act calls this group “국내체류 외국인등”) who works as an employee, public official, or school employee at a covered workplace becomes an employee-insured person under the same framework that applies to Korean employees and does not fall under an exclusion in Article 6(2) of the Act, once the person meets one of three residence-registration conditions: resident registration under the Resident Registration Act, domestic-residence reporting under the Act on the Immigration and Legal Status of Overseas Koreans, or alien registration under Article 31 of the Immigration Act (National Health Insurance Act Art. 109(2)). A foreign resident who is not covered as an employee-insured person can still become a region-based (지역가입자) insured person, but only if the person meets a residence period or residence-continuation ground set by Ministry of Health and Welfare rule, on top of one of the same registration conditions above (Art. 109(3)). The Enforcement Rule sets that period at six months or more and lists, as alternative qualifying grounds, having obtained permanent residency, non-professional employment (E-9) status, marriage-migrant status, or a study or general-training status designated by Ministry of Health and Welfare notice (Enforcement Rule of the National Health Insurance Act, Article 61-2(1)). For an alien-registered person the status of stay must also be one listed in Table 9 of that Rule (Art. 109(3)2(b); Rule Art. 61-2(2)). A foreign employee-insured person can also add a dependent on application to the NHIS, but only if the dependent relationship and income/property standards match the same rules that apply to a Korean employee’s dependents, and the dependent’s own residence period or ground also meets the Article 109(3) standard — except that a spouse or a child under 19 is not held to that residence requirement (Art. 109(4)). Two situations remove a foreign resident from coverage entirely: an unlawful stay under grounds set by Presidential Decree, and a voluntary opt-out where the person already has equivalent medical coverage through a foreign law, foreign insurance, or an employer contract, and requests exclusion as the ministry rule prescribes (Art. 109(5)). A workplace whose employer is itself a foreign government may instead have separate health insurance arrangements set by agreement between the Korean and foreign governments (Art. 109(1)).
National Pension: automatic coverage, a reciprocity condition, and a narrower lump-sum refund
A foreign national employed at a workplace covered by the National Pension Act, or simply residing in Korea, automatically becomes a workplace-based or individually insured person, in the same way as a Korean national, unless the person falls into a category the Presidential Decree excludes (National Pension Act Art. 126(1)). The Enforcement Decree of the National Pension Act, Article 111, excludes three groups from that automatic coverage: a person staying in Korea without an extension-of-stay permit under Article 25 of the Immigration Act, a person who has not completed alien registration under Article 31 of the Immigration Act or who has been issued a deportation order under Article 59(2) of the Immigration Act, and a person holding a visa category set by Ministry of Health and Welfare rule (Enforcement Decree of the National Pension Act, Article 111, items 1-3; the visa categories are listed in the annex to Article 53 of the Enforcement Rule of the National Pension Act). Separately, that automatic coverage has one built-in condition: it does not apply if the foreign national’s home-country law does not extend a pension equivalent to the National Pension to Korean nationals — a reciprocity requirement (Art. 126(1), proviso). Where a foreign insured person does become disabled or dies while in Korea, the disability-pension and survivors-pension rules apply with two adjustments: the first-examination date for a disability must fall within the person’s period of residence in Korea (Art. 126(3)), and the exclusion that would otherwise deny a survivors’ pension for certain deaths abroad does not apply if the death occurred while the person was residing in Korea (Art. 126(4)). The lump-sum refund available to a Korean national who turns 60 with under ten years of coverage, who dies without a survivor eligible for a survivors’ pension, or who loses nationality or emigrates (National Pension Act Art. 77(1)) does not extend to a foreign insured person as a general rule (Art. 126(5)). That general rule has three exceptions, restoring lump-sum refund eligibility: a foreign national whose home country’s law would itself pay a Korean national a lump sum in the equivalent situation, a foreign worker under the Act on the Employment of Foreign Workers employed at a covered workplace, and a person holding an industrial-training visa under Article 10 of the Immigration Act who has not left the designated training location during the training period (Art. 126(5), items 1-3). Two more limits for foreign nationals were added by the amendment promulgated and in force on October 20, 2026. First, the dependants’ supplement to a pension (the 부양가족연금액 under Article 52) is not paid to a foreign recipient (for a survivors’ pension, the deceased insured person or former insured person), unless the home country’s law adds a corresponding amount to its own pension benefits and applies that rule to Korean nationals, or the person is a foreign national the Presidential Decree designates (Art. 126(2), items 1-2). It applies to old-age, disability, and survivors’ pension entitlements that arise on or after October 20, 2026 (Addenda Art. 4(1)); for a foreign recipient outside the exceptions whose entitlement arose earlier, a spouse, child, or parent who newly qualifies on or after that date is not added to the supplement (Addenda Art. 4(2)). Second, a foreign insured person cannot make a late payment of contributions under Article 92, again unless the home country’s law provides a corresponding late-payment right that applies to Korean nationals, or the person is a foreign national the Presidential Decree designates (Art. 126(6), items 1-2); it applies to foreign insured persons who apply for late payment on or after October 20, 2026 (Addenda Art. 5(1)). The Presidential Decree exceptions (item 2 of each paragraph) take effect six months after promulgation, on April 21, 2027 (Addenda Art. 1). Separately, if Korea has a social security agreement with the foreign national’s home country, that agreement — not the Act’s default rules — governs coverage, contribution payment, benefit eligibility, and benefit calculation for that person (National Pension Act Art. 127). The National Pension Service publishes the current list of agreement countries.
Employment Insurance: it depends on your visa
Employment Insurance starts from a set of exclusions that apply regardless of nationality — workers below a minimum contractual-hours threshold set by Presidential Decree, public officials, private school personnel under the Pension for Private School Teachers and Staff Act, and other categories the Presidential Decree adds (Employment Insurance Act Art. 10(1)) — plus a carve-out for the unemployment-benefit and related chapters for anyone hired, or who starts self-employment, at or after age 65 (Art. 10(2)) — except a person already insured before 65 who stays in continuous employment after turning 65 (Art. 10(2)).
Scheduled change: an amendment to the Employment Insurance Act takes effect on January 1, 2027 (Act No. 21473, Addenda Article 1, proviso). It replaces the contractual-hours exclusion with an income test: a worker whose pay from the business is below an income threshold set by Presidential Decree will be excluded instead (amended Art. 10(1)2). A worker who is already insured and whose pay later falls below the threshold, without leaving the job, is not excluded. Three groups stay covered even below the threshold (amended Art. 10(2)): daily workers; workers who have worked for the business continuously for 3 months or more; and workers holding two or more jobs whose combined pay for the same period reaches the threshold and who apply to combine it. The age-65 carve-out moves to Article 10(3). Separately, a worker insured before January 1, 2027 who falls below the new threshold afterwards keeps coverage under the old rule until first leaving the job (Addenda Article 2). The threshold amount is set by Presidential Decree.
On top of those general exclusions, foreign employees are handled by a separate provision. A foreign worker covered by the Act on the Employment of Foreign Workers — the framework that governs the Employment Permit System — is covered by the Employment Insurance Act in full, except that the unemployment-benefit and related chapters (Chapters IV and V) apply only if an application for that coverage is made as prescribed by Ministry of Employment and Labor rule (Employment Insurance Act Art. 10-2(1)); under that rule, the application form is submitted by the employer or a subcontractor (Enforcement Rule of the Employment Insurance Act, Art. 2(1)). Chapter III — the employment security and job skills development programs — is not in that opt-in list, so it covers such a worker automatically. The premium for those programs is paid by the employer alone; the employee’s share of employment insurance premiums is calculated only from the unemployment-benefit premium rate — ordinarily half of that rate applied to the employee’s pay (Act on the Collection of Premiums for Employment Insurance and Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance, Art. 13(2) and (4)). A payslip with no employment insurance deduction therefore does not, on its own, show that the employer has no employment insurance coverage for that worker. For any other foreign national who enters an employment contract and is not covered by the Act on the Employment of Foreign Workers, the extent of coverage is set by Presidential Decree according to the scope of activity and length of stay under the person’s visa (Art. 10-2(2)), and that Presidential Decree is the Enforcement Decree’s Article 3-3:
| Visa / status (for a person with an employment contract) | Coverage |
|---|---|
| D-7 (intra-company transferee), D-8 (corporate investor), D-9 (trade management) | Full Act applies automatically, unless the home country’s law does not extend an equivalent premium-and-benefit system to Korean nationals (Enforcement Decree Art. 3-3, item 1(a)) |
| F-5 (permanent residency) | Full Act applies automatically (Enforcement Decree Art. 3-3, item 1(b)) |
| Certain F-2 sub-categories, and F-6 (marriage migration), as listed in Immigration Act Enforcement Decree Art. 23(2) | Full Act applies automatically (Enforcement Decree Art. 3-3, item 1(c)) |
| F-4 (overseas Korean) | Full Act applies only if an application for coverage is filed as Ministry of Employment and Labor rule prescribes — by the employer (Enforcement Decree Art. 3-3, item 2(a); Enforcement Rule Art. 2(1)) |
| C-4 (short-term employment), E-1 through E-10 (including E-7), and H-2 (working-visit) — with H-1 (working-holiday) treated the same once its holder is actually working, per Immigration Act Enforcement Decree Art. 23(1) and (5). ※ A worker employed under the Act on the Employment of Foreign Workers (e.g., many E-9 and H-2 holders) is governed by Art. 10-2(1), not this row | Full Act applies only if an application for coverage is filed as Ministry of Employment and Labor rule prescribes — by the employer (Enforcement Decree Art. 3-3, item 2(b); Enforcement Rule Art. 2(1)) |
A worker employed under the Act on the Employment of Foreign Workers falls under Article 10-2(1), not this table, even if the visa appears in the last row (Employment Insurance Act Art. 10-2(2)).
For the last row, the Ministry of Government Legislation has interpreted the application requirement, for a worker who is not a daily worker, as depending on the employer’s consent: if the employer does not agree to coverage, it may decline to submit the application form (Interpretation No. 21-0680, January 19, 2022).
The same Enforcement Decree article also sets separate, narrower rules for foreign nationals working under a culture-and-arts-services contract or a labor-provision contract rather than an employment contract (Enforcement Decree Art. 3-3, items 3 and 4); that is a different category from an employee.
Industrial Accident Insurance: no nationality condition
Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance applies to every business or workplace that employs employees, with the only exclusions being businesses that Presidential Decree carves out (Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act Art. 6), which Enforcement Decree Art. 2(1) lists as public-official and military accident-compensation businesses, businesses compensated under the Seafarers’ Act, the Fishing Vessel Crew Accident Compensation Insurance Act, or the Private School Teachers and Staff Pension Act, household employment, and non-corporate farming, forestry (other than logging), fishing, and hunting businesses with fewer than five regular employees. The Act’s definitions of “employee,” “wage,” “average wage,” and “ordinary wage” all track the Labor Standards Act’s definitions of the same terms (Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act Art. 5, item 2), which likewise carry no nationality condition. Nothing in Articles 5 or 6, or in the exclusions in Enforcement Decree Art. 2(1), distinguishes a foreign employee from a Korean employee, so industrial accident coverage turns on whether the workplace and the employment relationship are covered — not on nationality or visa. Some benefit rules do turn on nationality, though: a survivor who was not a Korean national and lived abroad at the time of the worker’s death is not eligible for the survivors’ compensation pension (Art. 63(1)).
Checking your payslip
None of the four provisions above sets a separate premium rate because a worker is a foreign national: where the same type of coverage applies, the rates are those that apply to Korean employees at the same workplace. For the current figures — the National Pension, National Health Insurance, long-term care, and Employment Insurance percentages, and how they are split between you and your employer — see Korean payroll in 2026: the four social insurances and who pays what.
Checking whether you are enrolled
The 4 Social Insurances Information Center (4insure.or.kr) lets an individual log in to look up current enrollment details and request certificates across the four insurances, and its individual filings and certificate issuance can also be done on mobile. For past enrollment history, the portal directs you to each agency’s own website or call center. For a question about one insurance in particular, the main numbers are: the National Health Insurance Service, 1577-1000 (the NHIS lists foreign-language consultation in English, Chinese, Uzbek, and Vietnamese at 1577-1000, extension 6, or 033-811-2000; the NHIS lists its open hours as 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays); the National Pension Service, 1355; the Korea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service, 1588-0075; and the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s call center, 1350.
What foreign employees often assume about the four insurances
“Foreign employees are automatically enrolled in all four insurances.” Not quite — National Health Insurance and National Pension generally are automatic once you meet a registration condition, but Employment Insurance depends on your visa category, and for several visa categories it only applies once an application is filed — and the employer is the one who files it (Employment Insurance Act Enforcement Decree Art. 3-3, item 2; Enforcement Rule Art. 2(1)).
“If I leave Korea, I automatically get my pension contributions back.” Not as a general rule. The general rule removes the lump-sum refund available to Korean nationals, and restores it for three specific groups (National Pension Act Art. 126(5), items 1-3).
“My home country doesn’t have National Pension, so I’m exempt.” The reciprocity condition in Article 126(1) looks at whether your home country’s law extends an equivalent pension to Korean nationals — not at whether you personally have paid into a foreign pension — and a social security agreement between Korea and your home country, where one exists, can override the ordinary rule entirely (National Pension Act Art. 127).
Bottom line
National Health Insurance and Industrial Accident Insurance apply to a foreign employee much the way they apply to a Korean one. National Pension applies automatically too, subject to a reciprocity condition, a narrowed lump-sum refund, and, for foreign nationals outside the listed exceptions, no dependants’ supplement on pension entitlements arising on or after October 20, 2026 and no late payment of contributions applied for on or after that date (National Pension Act Art. 126; Addenda Arts. 4–5). Employment Insurance is the one that genuinely depends on your visa (Employment Insurance Act Enforcement Decree Art. 3-3).