Living in Daejeon
National Health Insurance
Republic of Korea has a national health insurance program that charges certain insurance bill depending on income. Subscribers of the National Health Insurance can get medical treatment at a hospital for a lower cost, as well as receive a health examination service on a regular basis.
Guideline on the health insurance system for foreigners and Korean nationals living abroad
Managing subscribers
- (Those subject to subscription) Persons who have not subscribed to health
insurance among those who have stayed for 6 months or more
- Marriage immigration (F-6) is subject to subscription as of the date of entry
(the registration date if foreigner registration is later than the date of entry)
- * Foreigners except for those with A (diplomat), B (tourist), C (short term), and G1 (others) but among those with G1 (others), G-1-6 (humanitarian status) and G-1- 12 (family of those with humanitarian status) are subject to subscription.
- * For those with D2 (foreign student) and D4 (general trainee), a grace period is given to compulsory subscription (until February 28,2021).
- Students who are currently qualified as local subscribers will be disqualified if they fail to pay their insurance premiums in advance and cannot re-subscribe. However, they can subscribe as an employee.
- Marriage immigration (F-6) is subject to subscription as of the date of entry
(the registration date if foreigner registration is later than the date of entry)
- (Subscription procedure) Subscription will be processed uniformly by the NHIS without separate reporting procedures
- When reporting a change in the place of stay(residence) to the registration authority, report the detailed address of the place of residence accurately, so that there is no disadvantage due to non-delivery of mail.
- Those eligible for exemption from health insurance
and required documents
- (Eligibility) Where medical guarantees equivalent to health care
under Article 41 of the Act can be obtained through contracts
under foreign laws, insurance company or employers
- Foreign insurance shall be recognized only if a person has subscribed to it before long-term stay in Korea (foreign registration, etc.).
- Contracts with foreign insurance companies and employers have a 1-year exemption period, and after that period, they need to apply for exemption again.
- (Documents for submission) Loss of eligibility report form, health
application form for insurance registration exemption and other
required documents (including Korean translation)
- - Foreign laws and insurance : Confirmation of applicability under foreign laws, insurance contracts, etc
- Contract with employers : Documents that show that you can receive medical guarantee, such as labor contract
- (Eligibility) Where medical guarantees equivalent to health care
under Article 41 of the Act can be obtained through contracts
under foreign laws, insurance company or employers
Imposing and paying insurance premiums
- Insurance premiums are calculated in terms of individual (family) units
according to income and property, and if the calculated premiums are less
than the average insurance premium for all subscribers in November of the
previous year, the average insurance premium shall be applied.
- * Average premium for November 2019: 123,080 won
- However, for those who are refugees (F-2-4), their families (F-1-16), and single households under 19 years of age, insurance premiums are calculated the same as Koreans without applying the average insurance premium even if their calculated premiums are below the average insurance premium.