I Was Happy About My Pay Raise, but "Now I Owe 220,000 Won"... What’s Happening to 10 Million Employees?

10.35 Million Employees with Salary Increases
Average Additional Health Insurance Premium of 219,000 Won Per Person

Last year, more than 10 million workplace insurance members whose salaries increased will have to pay an additional average of about 220,000 won per person in health insurance premiums.

On April 22, the National Health Insurance Service announced that it will conduct year-end tax settlements for workplace insurance members (employees), reflecting the 2025 salary changes, and will notify the additional amounts with the regular insurance premiums for April.

The Asia Business Daily Database

The total amount settled for workplace member health insurance premiums is 3.7064 trillion won. This represents an increase of about 10% compared to the previous year's 3.3687 trillion won.

Among the 16.71 million workplace insurance members, 2.81 million had no change in salary compared to the previous year, and 3.55 million had a decrease in salary and will receive an average refund of 115,000 won per person. For the 10.35 million whose salaries increased, the additional payment will be an average of 219,000 won per person.

To enhance public convenience, starting this year, the Service will automatically process year-end tax settlements for all workplaces by applying the simplified payment statement (earned income) from the National Tax Service.

The settled insurance premium will be billed at once and reflected in the April insurance premium. Employers (workplaces) may apply to pay in installments (up to 12 times) to the Service by May 11, the due date for April premiums. For workplaces using automatic withdrawal, the application must be made at least two business days before the payment deadline.

However, installment payment applications are only allowed if the additional insurance premium due from the year-end settlement is greater than the current month's premium.

Won Inmyung, Standing Director of Collection at the National Health Insurance Service, explained, "The year-end tax settlement is a system that imposes precise insurance premiums based on the salaries employees received from their workplaces in the previous year," and added, "If workplaces promptly report changes in monthly salary amounts to the Service when there are salary changes due to wage increases or step raises, the additional payment burden from the year-end settlement can be greatly reduced."

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