In South Korea there is no legislation that recognizes this right in a general way. Now a pilot project introduces coverage for everyone in five cities and one district of the capital. The pandemic brought the problem to light, as employees infected by the coronavirus were showing up at work so as not to lose their income.
Seoul () – The United States and South Korea are the only two OSCE countries in which there is no legislation that recognizes the right to sick leave for workers. They are often the companies themselves those that correct this deficiency, including the recognition of this type of license in the contractual clauses. However, this practice is not universally applied. For workers who are not covered, any illness or injury not related to their work means a loss of income due to the absence of special social plans. However, this is expected to change in the coming years.
Indeed, as of July 4, a pilot project in five cities in the country and in the central district of Jongno-gu, in Seoul, which provides for the introduction of a sickness or accident benefit. Any person residing in the six zones or who works for one of the 105 companies participating in the project, even if they live outside the designated zones, will be able to enjoy this subsidy. The compensation will be paid for by the national social welfare budget. and it is calculated as follows: for each hour of absence from work, the worker will receive 60% of the minimum wage, up to a maximum of 43,968 won per day, approximately 33 euros. Any type of illness or injury verified by a doctor will be accepted by the authorities, except for very special cases -such as plastic surgery- unrelated to medical issues.
Each of the six zones will apply different criteria for about a year, in order to assess the effectiveness of the various pilot programs. Some cities only recognize hospitalization cases as eligible for protection. The timing of compensation payment and the maximum number of days also vary from case to case. By 2025, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare hopes to expand the system to the entire country.
During the pandemic, the need to introduce a system of sick pay became evident. Many workers were unable to maintain their income due to being infected with Covid-19. when announcing the launch of the programthe Minister of the Interior, Lee Sang-min, declared that “in the face of the appearance of large waves of infected, as happened with Covid-19, it is important to create social conditions in which workers can rest and recover if they are sick”.
The introduction of this type of system became necessary as the government has recently been considering removing the mandatory seven days of self-isolation for those infected. A survey conducted by the Korea Institute of Health and Social Affairs reported that in 2021, only 46% of employees took sick leave. Without compensation, there is a risk that employees infected with Covid-19 decide to report to work so as not to lose their income.
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