Starting Next Year, Asbestos Damage Relief Benefits Will Increase by 5.6%

Increase in Asbestos Damage Relief Benefits Along with Median Income Rise for 2-Person Households

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Ministry of Environment announced on the 29th that the asbestos damage relief payment will increase by 5.6% from January 1 next year compared to this year.

As the Ministry of Health and Welfare raised the median income for a two-person household by 5.6% for next year (2022), the asbestos damage relief payment, which is calculated based on the median income, has also been increased accordingly.

Since 2011, the Ministry of Environment has been providing relief payments such as nursing living allowances, funeral expenses and special funeral expenses, and special bereavement condolence money to victims of asbestos diseases like 'primary malignant mesothelioma' caused by asbestos or their bereaved families.

The nursing living allowance is paid monthly as a fixed amount according to the type of asbestos disease and the damage grade to cover treatment, nursing, and living expenses. This year, it ranges from 352,040 to 1,466,830 KRW, and next year it will increase to 371,640 to 1,548,540 KRW.

Funeral expenses and special funeral expenses are paid to the bereaved families when an asbestos damage recognition recipient dies or dies before receiving asbestos damage recognition. These will increase from 2.77 million KRW this year to 2,924,290 KRW next year.

Special bereavement condolence money is paid to the bereaved families within a range of 2.5 to 15 times the funeral expenses depending on the type of asbestos disease and damage grade when a person with an asbestos disease dies before receiving asbestos damage recognition. This will increase from 6,925,000 to 41,550,000 KRW this year to 7,310,720 to 43,864,350 KRW next year.

The Ministry of Environment plans to notify local governments, which bear 10% of the asbestos damage relief payments, of the increase in relief payments so that it can be reflected in the 2022 budget planning.

Park Yong-gyu, Director of the Environmental Health Bureau at the Ministry of Environment, said, "We will diversify efforts to find asbestos victims and continue to expand support for citizens who have suffered health damage due to asbestos."

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