NHIS Files Subrogation Claims for COVID-19 Treatment Costs Against Seongseok Church and IM Mission

Estimated Medical Expenses for Related Confirmed Cases 3.2 Billion Won... 2.7 Billion Won Burden on the Corporation

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] The National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) filed a subrogation claim lawsuit on the 30th against Seongseok Church and IM Mission, which were involved in COVID-19 cluster infections.

The NHIS stated, "We have determined that Seongseok Church and IM Mission's violations of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act caused the spread of COVID-19," and added, "We have filed a subrogation claim lawsuit seeking compensation under Article 750 of the Civil Act for tort liability, initially demanding 200 million KRW each for the treatment costs of confirmed COVID-19 patients borne by the NHIS."

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, there were 678 confirmed COVID-19 cases related to the two organizations (258 from Seongseok Church and 420 from IM Mission). The total estimated medical expenses for these patients amount to 3.2 billion KRW, of which the NHIS has borne 2.7 billion KRW. The NHIS stated, "We plan to expand the claim amount after verifying the payment details of medical expenses claimed by medical institutions to the NHIS through related data such as the list of confirmed patients."

To facilitate the smooth progress of COVID-19-related subrogation lawsuits, the NHIS has formed and operated a litigation support team since last year. They previously filed a subrogation claim lawsuit for 560 million KRW against Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon of Sarang Jeil Church.

The NHIS explained, "In cases of violations of quarantine guidelines or obstruction of quarantine by individuals or groups, we plan to actively consider recovering unjust enrichment or filing subrogation claims for medical expenses paid by the NHIS to medical institutions in cooperation with quarantine authorities and local governments," and added, "This subrogation claim means that if the COVID-19 treatment costs borne by the NHIS were caused by violations of quarantine guidelines or obstruction of quarantine, the individuals or groups responsible for causing those costs should bear them, so that the insurance premiums paid by the public are not wasted."

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