Annual Side Income Over 20 Million Won Excluding Salary... 800,000 Such Office Workers

If Annual Non-Salary Income Exceeds 20 Million KRW,
Additional Health Insurance Premium Imposed... 4% of All Workplace Subscribers Affected
Average Monthly Additional Premium of 152,000 KRW

Office workers are heading to work at the Gwanghwamun intersection in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

The number of health insurance workplace subscribers earning over 20 million KRW annually from additional income has surpassed 800,000. These individuals earn separate income from interest, dividends, rental income, and other sources besides their monthly salary from work.

According to data titled 'Recent 3-Year Annual Health Insurance Subscribers and Premium Imposition Status' received on the 26th from the National Health Insurance Corporation by Kim Seon-min, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee (Joguk Innovation Party), in 2024, 804,951 high-income workers earned over 20 million KRW annually from dividends, rental income, and other sources excluding their salary, based on the monthly health insurance premiums paid. This accounts for 4% of the total 19,883,677 workplace subscribers.

These individuals pay income-based insurance premiums on earnings other than their salary (wage), separate from the health insurance premiums imposed on their wage income (monthly wage-based insurance premiums). The income-based insurance premium is charged separately from the wage-based insurance premium (calculated by dividing the total annual wage by the number of months worked) imposed on the salary received as compensation for labor. It applies to comprehensive taxable income that includes interest from deposits, stock dividends, and rental income. Also called 'insurance premiums outside of salary (wage),' it has been imposed since 2011 under the Health Insurance Act (Articles 69, 71, etc.).

Initially, the income-based insurance premium was only imposed when the comprehensive taxable income excluding salary exceeded 72 million KRW annually. However, from July 2018, the first phase of the health insurance premium imposition system reform lowered the threshold to 'exceeding 34 million KRW annually.' From September 2022, the second phase of the reform further lowered the threshold to 'exceeding 20 million KRW annually,' strengthening the imposition criteria. However, to prevent excessive premiums from being charged just because the threshold is slightly exceeded, additional premiums are imposed only on the 'excess amount' over 20 million KRW annually in income outside of salary.

Office workers are heading to work near Gongdeok Intersection in Mapo-gu, Seoul.

These high-income workers pay an additional health insurance premium of about 152,000 KRW per month on average. As the criteria for imposing income-based insurance premiums have been continuously strengthened, the number of workplace subscribers paying insurance premiums outside of salary has increased every year: 194,738 in 2019, 229,731 in 2020, 264,670 in 2021, 587,592 in 2022, and 662,704 in 2023.