Korean Social Insurance Rate History (2017–2026)
See how National Pension, Health Insurance, Long-term Care, Employment and Industrial Accident insurance rates changed each year. For reference only — verify exact figures with an official body such as the National Pension Service.
Statutory formulaBased on 2026 rulesSources: Ministry of Health and Welfare · Ministry of Employment and Labor · National Pension Service
Insurance Rates by Year
| Year | Pension (employee) |
Pension (total) |
Health (employee) |
Health (total) |
Long-term care (of health premium) |
Employment ins. (employee) |
Industrial accident (avg., employer only) |
|---|
What a 10-year trend reveals — health and long-term care rising fastest
Placing 2017 and 2026 side by side shows a clear divergence. The health insurance rate (employee + employer) rose from 6.12% in 2017 to 7.19% in 2026 — about 1.07 percentage points over a decade — while the long-term care rate, set as a percentage of the health premium, more than doubled from 6.55% to 13.14% (about +6.59pp) over the same span. National pension, by contrast, stayed flat at 9.0% for all nine years from 2017 to 2025 before its first-ever rise to 9.5% in 2026. The very different pace by category shows rising elder long-term-care spending being reflected in rates faster and earlier than the pension overhaul.
How are rates officially set each year?
Social insurance rates are set annually by the responsible ministry via decree or notice, not by statute. The Ministry of Health and Welfare sets health and long-term care rates each year-end after review by the Health Insurance Policy Deliberation Committee; the Ministry of Employment and Labor amends the Employment Insurance Act enforcement decree for employment insurance; and national pension follows a phased schedule set under the National Pension Act. Industrial accident rates are recalculated annually by industry risk category — the figure shown here is the overall average. New rates are typically announced late in the year and take effect January 1.
What does a mid-year rate change mean?
In this table, employment insurance was revised mid-year twice: 0.65%→0.8% from October 1, 2019, and 0.8%→0.9% from July 1, 2022. Both were cases where the unemployment benefit fund was expected to run short, prompting an immediate decree amendment rather than waiting for the year-start notice. Unlike most social insurance rates that apply uniformly from January 1, employment insurance financing responds more sensitively to economic conditions and can be adjusted mid-year. Entries shown as "before→after (from effective date)" mark exactly this kind of mid-year revision.