Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Review article

Introducing statutory paid sick leave in South Korea: necessity and key considerations: Jinwoo Lee; Ann Occup Environ Med 2025;e22. Published online July 28, 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/aoem.2025.37.e22 [Accepted]

Abstract Abstract in Korean PDF: South Korea remains one of the few Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries without a statutory paid sick leave system or a public sickness benefit program. This paper examines the necessity of introducing statutory paid sick leave in South Korea and outlines key considerations for its implementation. The “right to rest when sick” is a fundamental health and labor right that ensures workers can recover from illness without risking job loss or income insecurity. A comparative review of international systems demonstrates that most countries have institutional mechanisms to support workers during non-work-related illnesses or injuries through paid sick leave and/or sickness benefits. In contrast, South Korean workers—especially those in small workplaces or non-regular employment—face limited access to such protections. The absence of these systems exacerbates social inequality and increases the risk of presenteeism and delayed medical care. Introducing statutory paid sick leave is not only a public health investment but also a measure to promote labor rights, reduce productivity losses, and prevent poverty caused by illness. The implementation of such a system must ensure universal coverage, prohibit employer retaliation, and be integrated with future sickness benefit programs to create a comprehensive social safety net.; 한국에서의 법정 유급병가 필요성과 도입 시 고려할 지점
한국은 법정 유급병가 제도 및 공적 질병수당 제도가 없는 몇 안 되는 OECD 국가 중 하나이다. 본 논문은 한국에서 법정 유급병가 제도의 도입 필요성을 검토하고, 제도 설계 시 고려해야 할 주요 사항들을 제시한다. ‘아플 때 쉬는 권리’는 노동자가 질병으로부터 회복할 수 있도록 보장하는 기본적인 건강권이자 노동권이다. 국제 비교를 통해 다수 국가들이 유급병가와 질병수당 제도를 통해 업무 외 질병 또는 부상 시 노동자를 지원하는 제도적 장치를 갖추고 있음을 확인할 수 있다. 반면, 한국의 노동자들—특히 소규모 사업장 종사자나 비정규직—은 이러한 보호로부터 배제되어 있는 경우가 많다. 이로 인해 사회적 불평등이 심화되고, 프리젠티즘(presenteeism) 및 의료 이용 지연의 위험이 증가하고 있다. 법정 유급병가 제도의 도입은 공중보건에 대한 투자일 뿐만 아니라, 노동권을 증진하고 생산성 손실을 줄이며 질병으로 인한 빈곤을 예방하는 수단이다. 제도 도입 시 보편적 적용, 사용자 불이익 조치 금지, 향후 수병수당 제도와의 연계를 통한 포괄적 사회안전망 구축이 핵심적으로 고려되어야 한다.

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Review article

The status and implications of paid sick leave and sickness benefits in OECD countries: Jaehoon Lee, Jinwoo Lee, Sang Baek Koh; Ann Occup Environ Med 2025;e21. Published online July 28, 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/aoem.2025.37.e21 [Accepted]

Abstract PDF: The experience of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has highlighted the importance of paid sick leave and sickness benefits, and is creating an international movement to introduce or improve real-world systems. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries except Korea and the United States already have statutory paid sick leave or sickness benefits, with the United Kingdom extending statutory paid sick leave to low-income workers in 2025, and Ireland introducing statutory paid sick leave in 2023. In the United States, 18 states, including Minnesota in 2024 and Alaska and Missouri in 2025, as well as the District of Columbia, have introduced statutory paid sick leave (as of December 2024). Furthermore, an analysis of 33 OECD countries with statutory paid sick leave or sickness benefits suggests that 21 countries comply with the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention standards for adequacy of benefits and comprehensiveness of coverage, while six countries with social assistance have high comprehensiveness of coverage but low adequacy of benefits. There was not a single country with a program that had low levels of both benefit adequacy and coverage. In Korea, the pilot sickness benefit program has been extended until 2027, and the system has been delayed. The principles of benefit adequacy and coverage comprehensiveness must be upheld for the purpose and intent of the program to ensure adequate care and rest. Consequently, in addition to adhering to the standards outlined in the ILO Convention, the implementation of paid sick leave should be codified in legislation to enhance employer accountability.

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Special Issue

Statement by the Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Medicine on the proposed reform of working hours in South Korea: Hee-Tae Kang, Chul-Ju Kim, Dong-Wook Lee, Seung-Gwon Park, Jinwoo Lee, Kanwoo Youn, Hwan-Cheol Kim, Kyoung Sook Jeong, Hansoo Song, Sung-Kyung Kim, Sang-Baek Koh; Ann Occup Environ Med 2023;35:e17. Published online July 5, 2023; DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/aoem.2023.35.e17

Abstract PDF Supplementary Material

The current 52-hour workweek in South Korea consists of 40 hours of regular work and 12 hours of overtime. Although the average working hours in South Korea is declining, it is still 199 hours longer than the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development average of 1,716 hours per year. In view to this, the South Korean government has now proposed to reform the workweek, mainly intending to increase the workweek to 69 hours when the workload is heavy. This reform, by increasing the labor intensity due to long working hours, goes against the global trend of reducing work hours for a safe and healthy working environment. Long working hours can lead to increased cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases, industrial accidents, mental health problems, and safety accidents due to lack of concentration. In conclusion, the Korean government’s working hour reform plan can have a negative impact on workers’ health, and therefore it should be thoroughly reviewed and modified.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

Gender differences in the association between long working hours and the onset of depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older workers in Korea: A population-based longitudinal study (2006–2022)
Seong-Uk Baek, Yu-Min Lee, Jong-Uk Won, Jin-Ha Yoon
Maturitas.2025; 193: 108175. CrossRef
Occupational disease monitoring by the Korea Occupational Disease Surveillance Center: a narrative review
Dong-Wook Lee, Inah Kim, Jungho Hwang, Sunhaeng Choi, Tae-Won Jang, Insung Chung, Hwan-Cheol Kim, Jaebum Park, Jungwon Kim, Kyoung Sook Jeong, Youngki Kim, Eun-Soo Lee, Yangwoo Kim, Inchul Jeong, Hyunjeong Oh, Hyeoncheol Oh, Jea Chul Ha, Jeehee Min, Chul
The Ewha Medical Journal.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
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Phillip John Tully, Suzanne Cosh, Gary Wittert, Sean Martin, Andrew Vincent, Antonina Mikocka-Walus, Deborah Turnbull
JMIR Research Protocols.2025; 14: e58655. CrossRef
Association of social jetlag with cigarette smoking, smoking intensity, and quitting intentions among Korean workers
Seong-Uk Baek, Jin-Ha Yoon
Journal of Public Health.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Association between long working hours and poor cardiovascular health assessed by the American Heart Association’s “Life’s essential 8”: findings from a nationally representative sample of Korean workers (2014–2021)
Seong-Uk Baek, Jin-Ha Yoon
Postgraduate Medical Journal.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Association between long working hours and metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease: a nationwide population-based study in Korea
S.-U. Baek, J.-U. Won, Y.-M. Lee, J.-H. Yoon
Public Health.2024; 232: 188. CrossRef
Association between long working hours and engagement in preventive healthcare services in Korean workers: Findings from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
Seong-Uk Baek, Yu-Min Lee, Jin-Ha Yoon
Preventive Medicine.2024; 180: 107849. CrossRef
Long Working Hours, Work-life Imbalance, and Poor Mental Health: A Cross-sectional Mediation Analysis Based on the Sixth Korean Working Conditions Survey, 2020–2021
Seong-Uk Baek, Yu-Min Lee, Jin-Ha Yoon, Jong-Uk Won
Journal of Epidemiology.2024; 34(11): 535. CrossRef
Association between long working hours and the onset of problematic alcohol use in young workers: A population-based longitudinal analysis in South Korea
Seong-Uk Baek, Jong-Uk Won, Jin-Ha Yoon
Journal of Affective Disorders.2024; 344: 141. CrossRef
Changes in Korea’s working time policy: the need for research on flexible working hours considering socioeconomic inequality
Inah KIM
Industrial Health.2024; 62(2): 77. CrossRef
Effect of long working hours on psychological distress among young workers in different types of occupation
Seong-Uk Baek, Jin-Ha Yoon
Preventive Medicine.2024; 179: 107829. CrossRef
Association between long working hours and the development of suicidal ideation among female workers: An 8-year population-based study using the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women & Family (2012–2020)
Seong-Uk Baek, Yu-Min Lee, Jin-Ha Yoon
Psychiatry Research.2024; 333: 115731. CrossRef
Long working hours and preventive oral health behaviors: a nationwide study in Korea (2007–2021)
Seong-Uk Baek, Jin-Ha Yoon, Yu-Min Lee, Jong-Uk Won
Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine.2024; 29: 48. CrossRef
Special Series I: Working hours as a social determinant of workers’ health
Kyunghee Jung-Choi, Tae-Won Jang, Mo-Yeol Kang, Jungwon Kim, Eun-A Kim
Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Association between long working hours and cigarette smoking, leisure-time physical activity, and risky alcohol use: Findings from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2014–2021)
Seong-Uk Baek, Jin-Ha Yoon
Preventive Medicine.2023; 175: 107691. CrossRef

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Research Article

Workers’ experiences with compensated sick leave due to musculoskeletal disorder: a qualitative study: Min Choi, Hyoung-Ryoul Kim, Jinwoo Lee, Hye-Eun Lee, Junsu Byun, Jong Uk Won; Ann Occup Environ Med 2014;26:33. Published online November 4, 2014; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40557-014-0033-0

Abstract PDF

Objectives

The most common occupational disease that is compensated by Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance (IACI) in Korea is musculoskeletal disease (MSD). Although complaints about the workers’ compensation system have been raised by injured workers with MSD, studies that examine workers’ experiences with the Korean system are rare. This paper is a qualitative study designed to examine injured workers’ experiences with the workers’ compensation system in Korea. The aim of this study is to explore the drawbacks of the workers’ compensation system and to suggest ways to improve this system.

Methods

All workers from an automobile parts factory in Anseong, GyeongGi province who were compensated for MSD by IACI from January 2003 to August 2013 were invited to participate. Among these 153 workers, 142 workers completed the study. Semi-structured open-ended interviews and questionnaires were administered by occupational physicians. The responses of 131 workers were analyzed after excluding 11 workers, 7 of whom provided incomplete answers and 4 of whom were compensated by accidental injury. Based on their age, disease, department of employment, and compensation time, 16 of these 131 workers were invited to participate in an individual in-depth interview. In-depth interviews were conducted by one of 3 occupational physicians until the interview contents were saturated.

Results

Injured workers with MSD reported that the workers’ compensation system was intimidating. These workers suffered more emotional distress than physical illness due to the workers’ compensation system. Injured workers reported that they were treated inadequately and remained isolated for most of the recuperation period. The compensation period was terminated without ample guidance or a plan for an appropriate rehabilitation process.

Conclusions

Interventions to alleviate the negative experiences of injured workers, including quality control of the medical care institutions and provisions for mental and psychological care for injured workers, are needed to help injured workers return to work earlier and more healthy.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by

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Gatot Santoso, S. Sugiharto, Abdul Mughni, Muhammad Imam Ammarullah, Athanasius P. Bayuseno, J. Jamari
Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences.2022; 10(F): 146. CrossRef
Factors related to the physician and the employer influencing successful return to work in Korea: results from the first panel study of workers’ compensation insurance (PSWCI)
Wanhyung Lee, Jin-Ha Yoon, Jaehoon Roh, Yeong-Kwang Kim, Hongdeok Seok, June-Hee Lee, Jong-Uk Won
Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.2015;[Epub] CrossRef
The effects of individual, occupational, and supportive factors on successful return to work using a structural equation model
Jongin Lee, Min Choi, Sung Hye Park, Hyoung-Ryoul Kim, Hye-Eun Lee
Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.2015;[Epub] CrossRef

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