One national insurer for almost every resident

Korea’s public system is National Health Insurance (NHI), operated by the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS). According to the NHIS, it covers all residents except people on Medical Aid and veterans who have their own care scheme. Members sit in two groups. The employee-insured group takes in workers and employers at every workplace, along with public officials and private school staff. Everyone else, such as the self-employed, farmers and fishers, is self-employed insured and pays on a separate basis.

For foreign residents, the NHIS runs dedicated centres in Seoul, Ansan, Suwon, Incheon and Uijeongbu that handle eligibility and contributions, which helps when an employee has a question about their own record.

A foreign employee is in from day one

Guides from a Korean accounting firm say a foreign national working at a Korean workplace is enrolled as employee-insured from the first day of work unless an exemption applies. Health insurance is one of four statutory social insurances, with National Pension, Employment Insurance and Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance, and the same guides note that some obligations vary by visa type.

The picture is different for a foreigner who is not on a payroll. An insurance broker’s summary describes a 2019 rule under which foreigners in the self-employed group are generally enrolled after six months in the country. Either way, plan on the employee being inside the national system rather than outside it.

What the 2026 contribution costs each side

For employee-insured members, the NHIS sets the monthly contribution as the average monthly wage times a rate fixed each year. The rate is 7.19% for 2026, up from 7.09% in 2023 through 2025. An employer and its employee each pay half. The employer withholds the employee’s share from salary and remits the full amount by the 10th of the following month.

A long-term care insurance contribution is collected in addition to the health contribution. Payroll is where these amounts are calculated, so whoever runs Korean payroll for your hire, your own entity or an employer of record, carries the filing.

Family members on the employee’s cover

NHI can extend to relatives. The NHIS says the dependants of an employee-insured member, including a spouse, parents, children and siblings, can be covered when they rely on the member and have no income of their own, provided they meet the criteria in the Enforcement Rule. For an employee relocating with family, that is worth confirming early, before deciding whether family members need anything beyond the public plan.

Group insurance as a workplace benefit

Anything a company adds beyond NHI is its own benefit decision. On tax, an accounting-firm alert reported that from January 2021 Korea treated employer-paid group insurance premiums as non-taxable welfare benefits, where earlier the exemption had a yearly cap. Confirm the current National Tax Service treatment with a local adviser before you build a benefit around it.

An international plan tops up, it does not replace

Because workplace enrolment is compulsory, an international plan cannot take the place of NHI for someone employed in Korea, and an employer should not tell staff they can leave the national scheme. An international policy, if you add one, works as a supplement alongside it, for example to extend cover outside Korea for staff who travel.

Korea also limits who can sell insurance to people living there. An insurance-market notice describes it as restrictive on cross-border business, with insurers generally needing a Korean licence and only certain classes written from abroad under the Insurance Business Act’s rules. Only the insurer can confirm whether a foreign group health plan can cover a single employee in Korea, so do not assume it can.

Employer of record and your introduction

EOR providers say a US company with no Korean entity usually hires through an employer of record, which becomes the legal employer, runs payroll and enrols the employee in all four social insurances. Your company then decides whether to fund an extra layer on top.

When you are ready, fill in the quote form on this page with the city your employee lives in, how many people you have in Korea, who employs them on paper and which relatives depend on them. From there, we can introduce you to a benefits partner experienced with health cover for people working outside the US. The partner and the insurer decide eligibility, plan options and pricing, and we stay available for your business insurance.

A few useful answers

Common questions

Can a remote employee in South Korea opt out of national health insurance with an international plan?

Plan on no. A foreign employee at a Korean workplace is enrolled in NHI from the first day of work unless an exemption applies, so an international plan is an addition.

How is the Korean health insurance contribution split?

For 2026 the NHIS rate is 7.19% of the average monthly wage, shared equally. The employer withholds the employee’s half and pays the total by the 10th of the next month.

Can an employee’s family be covered under Korean national health insurance?

Yes, when they qualify. A spouse, parents, children or siblings who rely on the member and have no income of their own can be listed as dependants under the NHIS criteria.

Who enrols an employee hired through an employer of record in Korea?

The EOR, as legal employer, usually runs payroll and enrols the employee in health insurance and the other three social insurances.

International Health Insurance for Remote Employees in South Korea