If a work injury or illness keeps you off work for treatment in Korea, workers’ compensation pays a sick-leave benefit (hyueop geubyeo). Article 52 of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act sets it at 70/100 of the average wage a day and pays nothing if the time off is 3 days or less. A very high average wage is cut to the maximum compensation base (268,299 won a day in 2026). A low one triggers Article 54 for low-income workers, which can lift the benefit to the minimum wage amount (82,560 won in 2026). From age 61 it shrinks under Article 55 and Schedule 1. Enter the average wage and days off to see the benefit.
1. Daily benefit = average wage × 70%. Nothing for 3 days or less.
2. 2026 maximum compensation base: 268,299 won a day — a higher average wage counts as this.
3. Low-income: 90% of average wage or the 82,560 won minimum wage amount; reduced from age 61 by Schedule 1.
Calculator
Updates as you type. 2026 figures: maximum compensation base 268,299 won a day, minimum compensation base and minimum wage amount 82,560 won. Fractions of a won are dropped from the daily amount (our method). Re-treatment (Art. 56) and partial work (Art. 53) are not covered. The Korea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service decides.
The articles
| Type | What the source says | Worth noting (ours) |
|---|---|---|
| Art. 52 sick-leave benefit | Paid for the period unable to work due to treatment of a work injury or illness, at 70/100 of the average wage a day; not paid if 3 days or less | The article doesn’t say whether the first 3 days count once it runs longer; the calculator counts all days |
| Art. 54(1) low income | If the 70% figure is at or below 80/100 of the minimum compensation base, pay 90/100 of the average wage; but if that 90% exceeds 80% of the base, pay 80% of the base | 80% is 66,048 won in 2026 |
| Art. 54(2) | If the amount under the main text of para. 1 is below the minimum wage amount, pay the minimum wage amount | Minimum wage amount = hourly minimum wage × 8 |
| Art. 55 older workers | Once a recipient turns 61, the benefit follows Schedule 1; not applied for a Decree-set period in cases such as injury while working after 61 | — |
Article 36(7) replaces an average wage above 1.8 times the all-worker average in firms with 5 or more regular staff (the maximum base), or below half of it (the minimum base), with that base, but says the minimum base does not apply to the sick-leave benefit or the injury-disease pension. So for this benefit only the upper cap applies directly; the low end is handled by Article 54.
2026 figures — notices
| Item | 2026 | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum compensation base | 268,299 won a day | Ministry Notice No. 2025-84 (1 Jan–31 Dec 2026) |
| Minimum compensation base | 82,560 won a day | Same notice |
| Minimum wage amount | 10,320 won × 8 = 82,560 won | 2026 minimum wage notice (No. 2025-47), 10,320 won an hour; Act Art. 36(7) |
| 80% of the minimum base | 66,048 won | 82,560 × 80/100 (our sum) |
From 61 — Schedule 1
| Age | Paid under Art. 52 | Paid under Art. 54 |
|---|---|---|
| 61 | Daily benefit × 66/70 | × 86/90 |
| 62 | × 62/70 | × 82/90 |
| 63 | × 58/70 | × 78/90 |
| 64 | × 54/70 | × 74/90 |
| 65 and over | × 50/70 | × 70/90 |
Item 1 of Schedule 1 says that if the Article 52 figure falls below item 3 (minimum base × 80/100 × 86/90 and so on), item 3 applies; item 3 uses the same formula for the Article 54(1) proviso case. The calculator follows this.
Six sums — our example
| Case (our example) | Sum | Benefit (our sum) |
|---|---|---|
| Average wage 150,000 won, 30 days, aged 45 | 150,000 × 70% = 105,000 won | 3,150,000 won |
| Average wage 300,000 won, 10 days | Cap 268,299 × 70% = 187,809 won | 1,878,090 won |
| Average wage 70,000 won, 10 days | 70% (49,000) ≤ 66,048 → 90% (63,000) → minimum wage amount | 82,560 won a day, 825,600 won |
| Average wage 80,000 won, 10 days | 90% (72,000) > 66,048 → proviso | 66,048 won a day, 660,480 won |
| Average wage 150,000 won, 30 days, aged 63 | 105,000 × 58/70 = 87,000 won | 2,610,000 won |
| Average wage 150,000 won, 3 days | 3 days or less | 0 won |
As the third and fourth cases show, reading the text literally, an average wage of 73,386 won or less becomes the 82,560 won minimum wage amount under Art. 54(2), while 73,387 to 94,354 won gets 66,048 won under the para. 1 proviso, because para. 2 refers only to the main text. We did not check how the Korea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service handles this band; ask them (our reading).
Checklist
- ☐ Work out the average daily wage first — average wage calculator
- ☐ Time off for treatment longer than 3 days
- ☐ Above 268,299 won, the cap applies
- ☐ 61 or over: Schedule 1 and the Art. 55 proviso
- ☐ Separate from the employer’s shutdown allowance
Questions that remain
Does the employer pay the first 3 days?
Article 52 only says nothing is paid for 3 days or less. The employer’s liability for that time sits in the Labor Standards Act, which we didn’t cover here.
What if I work a little while on leave?
Article 53 allows a partial benefit of 80/100 of the average wage minus that day’s pay for part-time or short-hour work during treatment. The calculator doesn’t cover this.
Sources
- Korean law database (law.go.kr) — Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act Arts. 36, 52–55, Schedule 1 — source (current text, effective 1 July 2026, Act No. 21375; checked 27 October 2026). Maximum and minimum bases and the minimum wage amount (minimum base not applied to this benefit), 70% and 3 days, partial benefit 80%, low-income 90%, 80% and minimum wage amount, Schedule 1 (66/70–50/70, 86/90–70/90).
- Korean law database — Maximum and minimum compensation bases — source (effective 1 January 2026, Ministry Notice No. 2025-84; checked 27 October 2026). 268,299 won and 82,560 won a day, to 31 December 2026.
- Korean law database — 2026 minimum wage notice — source (effective 1 January 2026, Ministry Notice No. 2025-47; checked 27 October 2026). 10,320 won an hour.
- Not read. The Decree period under the Art. 55 proviso; re-treatment (Art. 56); special average-wage rules.
- What we added. The “worth noting” column and the Korean everyday gloss.
Where to check further
- Korea Workers’ Compensation & Welfare Service — claims and the average wage decision.
Written on 27 October 2026. The content is from the source; the glosses are ours.
