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Teacher injury claims up 50% as approvals fall and refunds delayed, lawmaker says
Коротко
Data submitted to Rep. Han Byung-do of the Democratic Party show work-related injury and illness compensation claims by education civil servants rose 50% between 2022 and 2025, from 1,002 to 1,503, while the approval rate fell from 87.2% to 80.4%. The two outlets also reported delays in reimbursing uninsured treatment costs, including a Daejeon teacher who waited 121 days to be repaid 58,000 won. Han blamed duplicate-payment checks for the delays and called for procedural changes.
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Data submitted by the Ministry of Personnel Management and the Government Employees Pension Service to Rep. Han Byung-do of the Democratic Party, a member of the National Assembly’s education committee, show that compensation claims by education civil servants for work-related injuries and illness rose 50% between 2022 and 2025, while approvals became harder to obtain and reimbursement of treatment costs was delayed. Yonhap and Asia Economy both reported the figures on 6 October. [ 1 , 2 ]
Claims rose from 1,002 in 2022 to 1,503 in 2025, according to the data. Denials increased from 128 to 295 over the same period, a 2.3-fold rise, and the approval rate fell from 87.2% to 80.4%, a drop of 6.8 percentage points. [ 1 , 2 ]
Asia Economy reported that mental illness accounted for 82.8% of disease-related claims in 2025, up from 70.2% in 2022, while the approval rate for other diseases — musculoskeletal, cerebrovascular, cardiovascular and cancer — fell from 31.6% to 12.3%. Approval rates also varied by region in 2025: Sejong at 100% and Jeju at 95.0%, against Jeonnam at 70.0%, Gyeongnam at 70.6% and Gangwon at 70.8%, a gap of up to 30 percentage points. Jeonbuk’s rate fell 12.1 percentage points to 76.3%, below the national average, Asia Economy reported. [ 1 , 2 ]
Reimbursement is slow as well. Uninsured medical costs are paid by teachers to hospitals first and then claimed back from the Government Employees Pension Service. The outlets reported 4,837 such claims from 2022 to July 2026, of which 592 took more than 30 days to reach a payment decision and seven took more than a year. Asia Economy put the total value of the reimbursed claims at 5.23 billion won. [ 1 , 2 ]
Both outlets cited the case of a teacher in Daejeon who claimed 58,000 won for psychiatric treatment and waited 121 days for a decision, including 104 days spent checking whether the claim overlapped with an education office ‘teacher healing treatment cost’ subsidy. Asia Economy also reported a case in which 4,000 won took 402 days to be reimbursed and another Daejeon claim that took 143 days awaiting an education office reply. [ 1 , 2 ]
Han said waiting more than 100 days to get a small treatment refund back amounts to hurting a sick teacher twice. He called on the education ministry and city and provincial education offices to improve administrative procedures so that unnecessary delays such as duplicate-payment checks do not occur, and said he would push for institutional changes including writing a deadline for reconsideration decisions into law. The documents include no response from the education ministry or the education offices. [ 1 , 2 ]
Почему это важно
The figures describe how the compensation system for teachers injured or made ill at work is handling a growing caseload, with lower approval rates and reimbursement waits of months in some cases. The documents show a legislator pressing the education ministry and provincial education offices to change the procedures; they do not show any response from those bodies. Beyond the reported figures and Han's criticism, the documents give no assessment of the wider effect on schools.
Ключевые факты
- Work-related injury and illness compensation claims by education civil servants rose 50%, from 1,002 in 2022 to 1,503 in 2025. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Denials rose from 128 to 295 over the same period and the approval rate fell from 87.2% to 80.4%, down 6.8 percentage points. [ 1 , 2 ]
- In 2025, approval rates by region ranged from 70.0% in Jeonnam to 100% in Sejong, a gap of up to 30 percentage points. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Of 4,837 uninsured treatment cost claims from 2022 to July 2026, 592 took more than 30 days to a payment decision and 7 took more than a year. [ 1 , 2 ]
- A teacher in Daejeon claimed 58,000 won for psychiatric treatment and waited 121 days for a decision, with 104 days spent checking for overlap with an education office subsidy. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Asia Economy reported that mental illness accounted for 82.8% of disease-related claims in 2025, up from 70.2% in 2022. [ 2 ]
- The data were submitted by the Ministry of Personnel Management and the Government Employees Pension Service to Rep. Han Byung-do of the Democratic Party, a member of the National Assembly education committee. [ 1 , 2 ]
Подтверждено несколькими источниками
- Compensation claims by education civil servants rose 50%, from 1,002 in 2022 to 1,503 in 2025, according to data from the Ministry of Personnel Management and the Government Employees Pension Service. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The claim approval rate fell from 87.2% to 80.4% between 2022 and 2025, with denials rising from 128 to 295. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Regional approval rates in 2025 ranged from 70% in Jeonnam to 100% in Sejong, with Gyeongnam at 70.6% and Gangwon at 70.8%. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Uninsured treatment costs are paid by teachers first and then claimed back from the Government Employees Pension Service, and 592 of 4,837 claims from 2022 to July 2026 took more than 30 days to a payment decision, with 7 taking more than a year. [ 1 , 2 ]
- A teacher in Daejeon waited 121 days to receive a decision on a 58,000 won psychiatric treatment claim, including 104 days spent verifying overlap with the education office’s teacher healing treatment cost support. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Rep. Han Byung-do said waiting more than 100 days for a small treatment refund amounts to hurting a sick teacher twice, and called for procedural improvements and substantial support measures. [ 1 , 2 ]
Пока неясно
- Asia Economy reported a case in which 4,000 won in treatment costs took 402 days to be reimbursed, and another Daejeon claim that took 143 days awaiting an education office reply. These cases appear in only one document and are not corroborated by the other outlet.
- Mental illness made up 82.8% of disease-related claims in 2025 and the approval rate for other diseases fell from 31.6% to 12.3%; Jeonbuk’s approval rate fell 12.1 percentage points to 76.3%. These figures are reported only by Asia Economy and are not repeated by the other outlet.
- Whether the education ministry, the Ministry of Personnel Management or city and provincial education offices dispute the figures or plan changes. The documents include no response or statement from any government body.
- The length of the Daejeon teacher’s wait: Yonhap’s headline says 120 days, while its article and Asia Economy say 121 days. The two documents differ on the figure by one day.
- The reason for the regional differences in approval rates. The documents state the gap but do not explain its cause.