Your Korean health insurance contribution jumped, you were dropped as a dependant, a benefit was refused — when a disposition of the National Health Insurance Service makes no sense to you, the Act sets out how to challenge it. The first step is an objection, and it has a deadline. We read Articles 87 to 90 of the National Health Insurance Act and Article 58 of its Enforcement Decree in the original.
1. Object within 90 days of learning of the disposition. It cannot be filed once 180 days have passed from the date of the disposition (Article 87(3)).
2. The Service decides within 60 days. It may extend by up to 30 days where unavoidable, giving notice at least 7 days before the period ends (Decree Article 58).
3. The next step is an appeal for adjudication. It is heard by the Health Insurance Dispute Mediation Committee in the Ministry of Health and Welfare (Articles 88 and 89).
What can be objected to — Article 87(1)
The Act says a person who objects to a disposition of the Service concerning the eligibility of insured persons and dependants, contributions and the like, insurance benefits, and insurance benefit costs may file an objection with the Service.
| Kind of disposition | Example (added by us) | Related article of ours |
|---|---|---|
| Eligibility of insured persons and dependants | Loss of dependant status, switch to locally insured | dependant checker |
| Contributions and the like | Assessment, income taken into account, settlement | regional premium calculator |
| Insurance benefits | Restriction of benefits, recovery | — |
| Insurance benefit costs | Refund of co-payments, payment of medical expenses | — |
The examples in the middle column are ours; the Act names only the four heads on the left. Dispositions of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service on benefit costs and adequacy evaluation are objected to at that Service (Article 87(2)) — a route mainly for hospitals and clinics, so this article covers only the NHIS side.
Deadlines — 90 days and 180 days
An objection must be made in writing (electronic documents included) within 90 days of learning of the disposition, and cannot be filed once 180 days from the date of the disposition have passed. This does not apply where you show that a justifiable reason prevented you from objecting within the period.
| Starting point (example) | Period | On the calendar (our arithmetic) |
|---|---|---|
| Day you learned of it: 8 October 2026 | 90 days | Around 6 January 2027 |
| Date of the disposition: 1 October 2026 | 180 days | Around 30 March 2027 |
The dates simply add the days to the starting point. We did not read the rules on computing periods, hence "around". For a contribution bill, whether the day you "learned" is the day it arrived or the payment due date is not in the text and was not checked — counting from the day the bill arrived is the safer course (our view).
The Service's decision — 60 days, 90 at the longest
- The Service must decide within 60 days of receiving the objection.
- Where unavoidable it may extend by up to 30 days.
- To extend, it must tell the objector at least 7 days before the decision period ends.
At the longest that is 60 days + 30 days = 90 days (our arithmetic). Notification is in Decree Article 57: once a decision is made, the Service or the Review and Assessment Service must without delay send the original of the written decision to the applicant and a copy to interested parties. The forms for the objection and the decision follow ministerial ordinance (Article 56). An earlier version said the kinds of decision (dismissal, rejection, acceptance) were in the Decree; on reading Articles 56 to 58 on 8 October 2026 there was no sentence dividing decisions into kinds.
After that — appeal for adjudication (Articles 88 and 89)
- A person who disagrees with the decision on an objection may appeal to the Health Insurance Dispute Mediation Committee.
- The period and method of filing follow Article 87(3) with the necessary changes — the 90-day and 180-day frame carries over.
- The written appeal is filed with the Service that made the disposition or with the Committee.
- The Committee sits in the Ministry of Health and Welfare and has up to 60 members including the chairperson. A sitting has 9 members in all, and non-officials must be the majority.
We read the carried-over 90 days as running from the day you learned of the objection decision (our reading) — the text says only that the provision applies with the necessary changes and does not spell out the starting point. An objection is the Service looking again at its own decision; an appeal is heard by a committee outside the Service (our gloss). An appeal is also decided within 60 days, extendable by up to 30 (Decree Article 61). The written appeal must state "the gist of the disposition and the day you learned of it" (Article 59(1)), and an appeal handed to a body without authority still counts as filed when it was handed in (paragraph (5)).
When can you go to court — Article 90
The Act says that a person who objects to a disposition of the Service or the Review and Assessment Service, and a person who disagrees with a decision on an objection under Article 87 or an appeal under Article 88, may bring an administrative action as provided in the Administrative Litigation Act.
The text sets "a person who objects to a disposition" beside "a person who disagrees with a decision" — which reads as allowing an action without first going through the objection or the appeal (our reading). The time limit for an action is in the Administrative Litigation Act and was not read this time. Check separately how the litigation deadline runs while time is spent on an objection.
Beside the National Pension and the Basic Pension (our comparison)
| Scheme | First step and deadline | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Health insurance | Objection — 90 days from learning of it; 180 days from the disposition; decided in 60 days (+30) | Appeal (Health Insurance Dispute Mediation Committee) |
| National Pension | Request for review — 90 days; 180 days; decided in 60 days (+30) | Re-review (National Pension Re-review Committee) |
| Basic Pension | Objection — 90 days from learning of it | — (within what we read of the Basic Pension Act) |
The National Pension row is from challenging a National Pension decision and the Basic Pension row from Basic Pension reporting, recovery and objection. The names differ but the numbers are almost the same — in each case note the day the notice reached you and count 90 days.
Checklist
- ☐ Noted the day the disposition notice or bill reached you
- ☐ Marked when 90 days from that day falls
- ☐ Stated the disposition and your reasons in the objection, with supporting material
- ☐ If no decision after 60 days, checked whether an extension notice came
- ☐ If you disagree with the decision, counted the appeal deadline afresh
Questions that remain
Do I stop paying contributions while objecting?
The provisions we read contain no sentence saying an objection suspends the effect of the disposition or its collection. We did not confirm whether it does — paying first and then contesting is the safer course to avoid late charges (our view).
My contribution rose sharply after retiring
Check the schemes before objecting — voluntary continued coverage and dependant registration are in health insurance after retirement.
Is it the same for long-term care grades?
Long-term care rests on a separate law (the Long-Term Care Insurance Act). The grading standards are in long-term care grades; that Act's objection procedure was not read this time.
Sources
- National Health Insurance Act [in force 8 October 2026] [Act No. 21522, partially amended 7 April 2026] — original text (checked 8 October 2026). Article 87 (90 days; 180 days), Article 88 (appeal), Article 89 (up to 60 members; 9 members), Article 90 (administrative action).
- Enforcement Decree of the National Health Insurance Act [in force 1 October 2026] [Presidential Decree No. 36675, partially amended 15 September 2026] — original text. Article 56 (forms), Article 57 (original and copy of the decision), Article 58 (60 days; 30 days; 7 days), Article 59 (the written appeal), Article 60 (notice of the appeal decision), Article 61 (appeal decided in 60 days). Articles 56, 57 and 60 were read on 8 October 2026.
- Not read. The objection and appeal forms (ministerial ordinance); the rules on computing periods; the Administrative Litigation Act; the objection procedure under the Long-Term Care Insurance Act; the objection form; what the amendment of 7 April 2026 changed.
- Our reading and arithmetic. The examples by disposition, the date table, 90 days (60 days + 30 days), the starting point for an appeal, the reading of Article 90, the three-scheme comparison.
Where to check further
- National Health Insurance Service — the objection form and filing.
- Health Insurance Dispute Mediation Committee — appeals.
Written on 8 October 2026. The provisions follow the original text at the Korea Law Information Center; the reading and arithmetic are ours.
