What are the 4 major insurance deductions (4대보험) on my Korean paycheck?

The 4대보험, the four major insurances, are Korea's mandatory social insurances taken from your pay, and as an employee you split most of them roughly half and half with your employer. National Pension (국민연금) is the retirement pension, a total of 9.5 percent of salary in 2026 (rising 0.5 percentage points a year to 13 percent in 2033) with you paying half, 4.75 percent, and if you are from an eligible country you can later claim this back as a lump sum when you leave Korea. National Health Insurance (건강보험) covers medical care and hospital visits at a heavily subsidized rate, currently around 7 percent of salary in total with you paying about half, and a small long-term care insurance (장기요양보험) is added on top of the health premium for elderly care services.

Employment Insurance (고용보험) funds unemployment benefits and job programs, and your share is small, roughly 0.9 percent. The fourth, Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance (산재보험), covers work injuries and is paid entirely by your employer, so nothing comes out of your pay for it. Altogether your deductions in 2026 come to roughly 9.5 to 10 percent of gross salary before income tax, though the exact rates are adjusted slightly each year and pension and health have upper income ceilings, so your payslip can vary. As a foreign worker you are generally enrolled in health insurance and, unless your home country excludes Koreans, the pension just like Korean employees, while on many work visas such as E-7 employment insurance applies only if you apply to join, and the health insurance in particular is a great deal given how low out-of-pocket medical costs are here.

Last verified: 2026-10-21