# Injured at Work in Korea? Suing Your Employer After Workers' Compensation

When an injured worker in Korea can claim damages from the employer on top of workers' compensation: fault, lost earnings, pain and suffering, the 2025 Supreme Court deduction rule and settlements.

Canonical: https://chosanghyun.com/en/guide/sue-employer-work-injury-korea

Published: 2026-10-19
Updated: 2026-10-19

By [Sanghyun Cho](https://chosanghyun.com/en/about), Attorney at Law (Republic of Korea).

## When a damages claim is possible

Workers' compensation pays regardless of fault. A civil claim against the employer requires fault: the Supreme Court recognises that an employer owes a duty, as part of the employment contract, to take the measures needed so that employees are not harmed in life, body or health while working (Supreme Court 97Da12082, 23 February 1999). Missing guards on machinery, no protective equipment, and no safety training or supervision for dangerous work are typical examples. Inspection or accident investigation findings, site photographs, CCTV and co-workers' statements are the usual evidence.

If you were also careless, the court reduces the employer's share. In the 2025 case below the employer was held 70% responsible.

## What you can claim

Loss of working capacity is a percentage the court sets, usually after a court-appointed medical examination using guides such as the McBride tables; it is not the same as the COMWEL disability grade, and the examination is only a reference for the court (Supreme Court 98Da61951). The working-life end point for manual work is generally age 65, but the court may set it differently on the facts (Supreme Court en banc 2018Da248909). Future losses are discounted at 5% simple interest a year, with the cumulative monthly discount factor capped at 240.

For a foreign worker expected to leave Korea, Korean earnings are used only for the expected period of work or stay in Korea, and earnings in the country the worker is expected to return to (usually the home country) are used after that. The period in Korea is assessed from the purpose of entry, the worker's intentions, the status of stay and its length, the record or likelihood of extensions and the actual employment, and the same applies to an undocumented worker (Supreme Court 98Da25825, 18 September 1998).

| Item | How it is assessed | Insurance benefit deducted |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Medical costs | Reasonable treatment, future treatment and devices attributable to the injury | Medical care benefit, only against the costs it paid; costs you paid yourself are not reduced again |
| Lost earnings during treatment | Pre-tax income for the period you could not work | Temporary disability benefit paid for the same period only (Supreme Court 2010Da77293) |
| Lost future earnings | Expected pre-tax earnings × loss of working capacity (%) over the working period the court accepts, discounted to present value | Disability benefit (for a pensioner, the lump-sum equivalent: Supreme Court 2016Da41869) |
| Pain and suffering (위자료) | Set by the court | None |

## The 2025 deduction rule, with the court's numbers

In Supreme Court 2023Da297141 (26 June 2025), a construction worker's wrist was struck by a grinder blade. COMWEL paid a disability benefit of KRW 54,202,500. The lower court found lost earnings after the treatment period of KRW 67,295,086 and held the employer 70% responsible. Taking 70% first and then deducting the benefit left nothing (KRW 47,106,560 minus KRW 54,202,500).

The Supreme Court reversed. The part of the benefit that corresponds to the worker's own share of fault is borne by COMWEL for the worker, so the employer is not released from the full benefit amount. The benefit is deducted first and the employer's share applied to the remainder: (KRW 67,295,086 − KRW 54,202,500) × 70% = KRW 9,164,810 on the court's figures. That figure is this guide's arithmetic; because the worker had limited the appeal, the remand covered KRW 8,200,000 plus interest. The rule extends Supreme Court en banc 2021Da241618 (24 March 2022), which concerned claims against third parties.

## Pain and suffering

Because the insurance never pays pain-and-suffering damages, they are claimed from the employer with no deduction of benefits. Courts set the amount case by case. A 2024 study of 1,853 first-instance industrial accident judgments describes the formula of the Seoul Central District Court's traffic and industrial accident divisions as: total for the victim and family = KRW 100 million × loss of working capacity × (1 − victim's fault × 0.6), with the KRW 100 million base applying to accidents from 1 March 2015. It is guidance, not law, and the study notes that some courts use a lower base. The same study found an average award of about KRW 26 million.

## Before you sign a settlement

Employers often offer a payment with a clause waiving all civil and criminal claims. Once signed, you generally cannot claim more even if a larger loss appears later. The exception is narrow: the later loss must have been unforeseeable when you settled and serious enough that you would not have settled for that amount (Supreme Court 2001Da9496). Signing before the disability grade or a medical assessment is known increases the risk.

Money paid in criminal proceedings together with a statement that you do not want the employer punished is in principle treated as part of the damages (Supreme Court 98Da43922). Occupational negligence causing injury is not an offence that can only be prosecuted with the victim's consent, so the statement is a sentencing factor rather than the end of the case.

## Who pays: employer, principal contractor, insurer

Besides the employer, a principal contractor may be liable for safety failures at its site (Occupational Safety and Health Act, Article 63). If the employer has liability insurance covering the accident (근재보험), you may claim directly from the insurer within the coverage and policy limit (Commercial Act, Article 724(2)); the insurer can raise the employer's defences, and coverage depends on the policy terms. In Supreme Court 2009Da8581, the policy excluded losses compensable under the workers' compensation legislation, including benefits payable in the future. Ask the employer in writing whether it holds such a policy.

## Frequently asked questions

**Does receiving a disability benefit stop me from suing my employer?**

No. Only the benefit for the same loss is deducted, and under the 2025 Supreme Court rule it is deducted before the employer's share of fault is applied. Pain-and-suffering damages are not reduced by any benefit.

**My disability grade is 12. What is my loss of working capacity?**

There is no statutory conversion. The court sets the percentage on the medical examination and your occupation, age and experience. The reference table used for state compensation lists 15% for grade 12, but that is not a prediction of what a court will find.

**How long do I have to sue?**

In tort, three years from knowing the damage and who caused it, usually from the injury, and ten years from when the damage actually occurred (Civil Act, Article 766; Supreme Court 2004Da71881). A claim for breach of the employer's contractual duty to protect your safety generally has a ten-year period (Supreme Court 2018Da270876).

## How the initial review works

- Send a short description, your current country and time zone, and any deadline. Please wait for document-transfer instructions before sending identity documents.
- The attorney checks the requested scope and any conflict of interest, then proposes the review, fee and expected delivery date by email. A video consultation in English can be arranged by appointment.
- The agreed initial review includes an English summary of the issues, missing documents and recommended next steps. Depending on the scope, it may also include a document checklist or a list of steps to take with each authority.
- Fees depend on the records and questions to be reviewed. Any filing, translation, certification, government charges or continuing work is identified separately in the proposal. Sending an inquiry does not start a paid engagement.

## Scope and sources

General information on Korean law in force on 19 October 2026 and the Supreme Court decisions cited. Liability, the employer's share of fault, loss of working capacity and pain-and-suffering damages are decided on the facts; this guide does not predict the outcome of any claim. The damages calculator linked below is in Korean.

- [Workers' compensation in Korea: benefits and deadlines](https://chosanghyun.com/en/guide/workers-compensation-korea)
- [Separation agreement clauses](https://chosanghyun.com/en/guide/korea-separation-agreement-review)
- [Ask about a damages claim after a work injury](https://chosanghyun.com/en/consult?source=injury_guide_en)
- [산재 손해배상 계산기 — damages calculator (in Korean)](https://chosanghyun.com/tools/industrial-accident-damages)
- [장해급여 받았어도 회사에 손해배상 (in Korean)](https://chosanghyun.com/guide/%EC%9E%A5%ED%95%B4%EA%B8%89%EC%97%AC-%EB%B0%9B%EC%95%84%EB%8F%84-%ED%9A%8C%EC%82%AC-%EC%86%90%ED%95%B4%EB%B0%B0%EC%83%81)
- [Supreme Court 2023Da297141 (Korean text)](https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/precInfoP.do?precSeq=607205)
- [Supreme Court en banc 2021Da241618 (Korean text)](https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/precInfoP.do?precSeq=222621)
- [Supreme Court 97Da12082 (Korean text)](https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/precInfoP.do?precSeq=195188)
- [Supreme Court 2001Da9496 (Korean text)](https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/precInfoP.do?precSeq=80850)
- [Supreme Court 2018Da270876 (Korean text)](https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/precInfoP.do?precSeq=217299)
- [Supreme Court 98Da25825 (Korean text)](https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/precInfoP.do?precSeq=195342)
- [Lee, Kim and Byun (2024), determinants of industrial accident pain-and-suffering awards (Korean)](https://www.akes.or.kr/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/0579118%EC%9D%B4%EC%9C%A0%EB%A6%BC%EA%B9%80%EC%9D%BC%EC%A4%91%EB%B3%80%EC%9E%AC%EC%9A%B1.pdf)
- [Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act (Korean text)](https://www.law.go.kr/%EB%B2%95%EB%A0%B9/%EC%82%B0%EC%97%85%EC%9E%AC%ED%95%B4%EB%B3%B4%EC%83%81%EB%B3%B4%ED%97%98%EB%B2%95)

## Discuss your Korean legal matter in English

[Request a consultation](https://chosanghyun.com/en/consult?source=injury_guide_en)

Email: info@sanghyunlaw.com

General information on Korean law. Advice requires a separate review and agreed engagement.