66,000 Software Freelancers Designated as 'Special Employment'... Eligible for Industrial Accident Benefits

Ministry of Employment and Labor Announces Legislative Notice for Amendment to Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act Enforcement Decree... Expansion of Industrial Accident Coverage
Insurance Premiums Shared Equally by Employers and Special Types of Workers... Effective from July Next Year
Lee Jae-gap, Minister of Employment and Labor, "Gradual Resolution of Industrial Accident Compensation Blind Spots for Special Types of Workers"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Approximately 66,000 software freelancers will be designated as special-type workers (teukso hyeongtae geunrosangsa, teukgo) and will receive industrial accident insurance benefits starting from July next year.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 6th that it has given prior notice of the amendment to the Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rules of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act and the Insurance Premium Collection Act. The amendment expands the scope of industrial accident insurance coverage for teukgo, who require high protection from work-related injuries, and relaxes the requirements for industrial accident workers to receive vocational training allowances.

First, software freelancers working in the information technology (IT) sector will be newly designated as teukgo under the Industrial Accident Insurance Act. Once the law is enforced, this will become the 15th teukgo occupation. Software freelancers mainly engage in software development, IT architecture, project management, consulting, and quality control, with an estimated 66,000 individuals in South Korea.

Industrial accident insurance premiums will be shared equally between employers and teukgo. Considering the preparation period for employers, the Ministry of Employment and Labor set the enforcement date of the amended law as July 1 of next year. Although teukgo are automatically covered by industrial accident insurance, they may apply for exemption if they do not wish to be covered due to premium burdens.

In this regard, the Ministry is devising measures to prevent abuse of exemption applications to enhance the effectiveness of the industrial accident insurance system. A ministry official stated, "There are unreasonable aspects in the application of the law, such as high-risk industries applying for exemption based on the judgment of the individual or employer, so discussions are underway to reform the exemption application system."

The government plans to continuously identify and expand teukgo occupations to be included in the industrial accident insurance system through research projects and consultations with labor, management, and experts. In July, five occupations, including door-to-door salespersons and freight truck owners, totaling 274,000 people, were designated as teukgo automatically covered by industrial accident insurance. The plan is to designate teukgo and provide industrial accident benefits if a dependent relationship is recognized after reviewing contract and labor provision forms and work instructions by occupation.

Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jae-gap said, "Expanding industrial accident protection for teukgo with high risks of work-related injuries is a key national agenda for creating safe and healthy workplaces," adding, "We will gradually eliminate blind spots in industrial accident compensation for teukgo by reflecting the special characteristics of each field and occupation."

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Honam Moon munonam@

The amendment also includes relaxing the requirements for payment of vocational training allowances to industrial accident workers. Currently, industrial accident workers can receive vocational training allowances at the minimum wage level if they apply for vocational training within 'one year' from the date of disability determination. The amendment expands this to those who apply within 'three years,' considering the deteriorated employment conditions due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, measures to expedite industrial accident determinations will also be implemented. Previously, even cases with high work-relatedness based on special medical institution examinations or epidemiological investigation results faced delays due to reviews by the Occupational Disease Judgment Committee.

Accordingly, cases with very high work-relatedness from special medical examinations and cases with high work-relatedness from epidemiological investigations will be excluded from the Occupational Disease Judgment Committee's review to promptly decide industrial accident status.

Although a subcommittee under the Occupational Disease Judgment Committee operates, it lacks voting rights, causing inefficiency as the main committee re-examines the subcommittee's review results. The amendment establishes regulations for the composition and operation of the subcommittee and clarifies its authority to independently review and decide on some agenda items of the Occupational Disease Judgment Committee.

The prior notice of the amendment can be found on the Ministry of Employment and Labor website or the Republic of Korea Electronic Official Gazette.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.