Suncheon City Officially Launches 'Sangbyeong Allowance' Pilot Project

Payment of 43,960 KRW per day for periods unable to work due to non-work-related injuries or illnesses

[Suncheon=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] Suncheon City, Jeollanam-do (Mayor Noh Kwan-gyu) announced that it will implement a pilot project for sickness benefits starting from the 4th to provide rest and income security for sick workers.

Sickness benefits refer to a system that compensates income to allow workers to focus on treatment when they have injuries or illnesses unrelated to their work that make economic activities difficult.

It is an important social safety net as it responds to the risk of income loss and poverty caused by injuries or illnesses and promotes workers' health rights.

This pilot project for sickness benefits is one of the national tasks of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration and is significant as the first step toward introducing sickness benefits, which has remained a long-standing issue in the process of establishing South Korea's social security system.

Furthermore, if the sickness benefits system is well established, it can be flexibly utilized during periodic infectious disease situations to prevent the spread of infections through workplaces.

The first phase of the pilot project will be implemented for one year starting from this day.

Suncheon City, selected through a public contest in April, will apply Model 3 type during this pilot project, providing sickness benefits based on the number of medical use days for cases of hospitalization for three days or more due to injuries or illnesses unrelated to work.

Applicants are workers aged 15 to under 65 residing in Suncheon City and workers at designated partner workplaces. Workers at partner workplaces can receive sickness benefits even if they do not reside in Suncheon City.

Applications and inquiries for the Suncheon City sickness benefits pilot project can be made at the National Health Insurance Service Suncheon-Gokseong branch, and also through the National Health Insurance Service website and application.

A Suncheon City official stated, “We expect that through the implementation of this sickness benefits pilot project, sick workers will be greatly helped to concentrate on recovery without worrying about their livelihood and safely return to work.”