South Korea will strengthen compensation and recognition for public servants who sacrifice themselves in the line of duty, and build a protection system spanning their entire careers, from accident prevention through rehabilitation and return to work.
The Ministry of Personnel Management said on the 14th that it will push forward a comprehensive plan to improve the injury compensation system for public servants, covering prevention, compensation, rehabilitation and return to work. The plan consists of improvement tasks in five areas: stronger compensation and recognition, support for rehabilitation and return to work, preemptive accident prevention, better administrative response capacity, and a more reasonable management framework.
Under the plan, the right to compensation for the bereaved families of public servants who died in the line of duty will take effect from whichever comes first — the date they file a claim for survivor benefits or the date they apply for registration as a family of a national merit recipient. Previously, a public servant who died on duty had to be recognized as a person of national merit through separate applications to the personnel ministry and the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, meaning that a delayed veterans registration could push back the date from which the right to veterans compensation arose. The personnel ministry will work with the veterans ministry to revise the law on persons of national merit and related statutes.
The survivor pension rate for public servants who died performing hazardous duties will rise to 47% of their monthly standard income from 43%. The change is intended to narrow the gap with comparable private-sector programs. To better honor deaths in the line of duty, the minimum condolence payment for public servants who die on duty will also be raised to 11.9 million won from 5.95 million won as of this year.
Public servants who have been injured sometimes struggle after returning to work before they have fully recovered. To prevent this, the ministry will expand rehabilitation support tailored to each stage of recovery, along with support for a stable return to work. Rehabilitation benefits, which had centered on public servants receiving medical care for work-related injuries, will be extended to cover up to six months after treatment ends, and the support period will be lengthened to six months from three. Support for rehabilitation exercise costs will be raised to a maximum of 600,000 won from 300,000 won.
The permitted length of sick leave for work-related illness will also be extended. At present, the allowed period differs by job category even for those performing the same hazardous duties. Going forward, public servants who have performed hazardous duties will be able to take leave for up to eight years regardless of job category.
To help those who have undergone long-term treatment readjust, the ministry will also establish a legal basis for "phased return to work," under which work locations and duties can be adjusted in the early stages of a return and gradually shifted back to normal duties as recovery progresses.
For preemptive accident prevention, the ministry will require each agency to designate an official in charge of prevention and to draw up health and safety management rules. It will also provide "customized on-site psychological support" for agencies deemed at high risk of psychological harm, such as those that have undergone organizational restructuring or other changes in their work environment. In addition, an "emergency duty suspension" system will be introduced to identify public servants in crisis at an early stage and allow them to stop work immediately and receive medical care.
The ministry issued public notice of the proposed rules on accident prevention for public servants containing these measures on the same day, with implementation planned for the end of February next year. Choi Dong-seok, minister of personnel management, said the plan "gives institutional form to the principle that the state must take responsibility for protecting public servants against harm suffered while devoting themselves to the people," adding, "We will continue working to create an environment in which public servants can carry out their duties with peace of mind."
