The government changed the system so that seasonal workers (E-8) can also be left out of Long-Term Care Insurance (insurance used when older people or people who are sick for a long time receive care services). Until now, if they became Workplace subscribers of Korean National Health Insurance (subscribers who work at a company and pay health insurance premiums together with the company), this insurance premium was added too. The problem was that seasonal workers are mostly between 19 and 55 years old, and their stay in Korea is usually about 5 months to at most 8 months. Even though the chance of actually using this service was very low, they still had to pay the premium, so people kept saying it was unfair. Reflecting this point, the government made it so that people with an E-8 visa can be excluded from enrollment if they apply. But it is not removed automatically. Seasonal workers who are Workplace subscribers of Korean National Health Insurance must visit a branch of the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) and submit an application form. The main point of the article is that this change can reduce the cost burden for both the workers themselves and the farming and fishing households that employ them.
원문 보기Why did they have to pay it too if they worked only a few months?
Even people who work only a few months and then go back become Workplace subscribers of Korean National Health Insurance (subscribers who work at a company and pay health insurance premiums together with the company) if they work for a company in Korea. Then they did not pay only the health insurance premium. The Long-Term Care Insurance premium, which is insurance for long-term care, was added too.
There are three things we will look at together in this article. ① Why they paid it together: because health insurance and Long-Term Care Insurance were connected by law. ② What changed: E-8 seasonal workers can now be excluded from Long-Term Care Insurance enrollment if they apply. ③ How to understand it: rather than a completely new benefit being created, this is closer to an adjustment that widened exceptions for people who stay only a short time.
If you understand this structure, similar insurance news will feel less confusing next time too. The key point is that it changed from 'it was added because they joined health insurance' to 'now E-8 holders can remove it if they apply.'
Reason it was added: whether it was linked together when joining health insurance
Changed method: whether it requires direct application instead of automatic exclusion
Why was it added too when joining health insurance?
This controversy did not happen because there were two kinds of insurance. It happened because of a structure where joining one side also made the other side follow.
| Step | What does it mean? | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Work as part of a company | If you work at a workplace, you are registered as a workplace subscriber for health insurance | |
How did it appear for seasonal workers? Even if you worked only a few months, it was linked right away when employment started | ||
| 2. Join health insurance | It means entering the public insurance that shares medical costs together (insurance run by the government) | |
| 3. Long-Term Care Insurance premium charged together | The long-term care insurance premium is added to the 건강보험 premium. | |
| 4. This revision | E-8 can skip this last step if they apply. | |
If the 건강보험 premium is 100K KRW, how much more was paid?
Looking at the 2024 example from the research, the Long-Term Care Insurance premium had 12.95% added to the 건강보험 premium. If the 건강보험 premium is 100K KRW, it means Health and Welfare Call Center50 KRW is added, so for someone who works only a few months, it could feel like a fixed monthly cost taken out every month.
What really changed this time?
On the surface, it may look like 'you do not have to pay the premium,' but if you look more closely, the real system change is 'automatic payment → can be excluded if you apply.'
| Item | Before revision | |
|---|---|---|
| Target | E-8 also paid together when becoming a Workplace subscriber of 건강보험. | |
After revision If E-8 applies, they can be excluded from Long-Term Care Insurance enrollment. | ||
| Payment method | Automatically charged together with the 건강보험 premium | |
| Chance of use | Even if it was low, there were almost no exceptions. | |
| Meaning | Applied the same rule to everyone | |
Why do I need to apply myself instead of it being automatic?
This is the part that confuses people the most. Even if the law changed, it does not get removed automatically. The eligible person must apply directly.
Step 1: Check my visa and insurance status
First, check whether your visa is E-8 Seasonal Worker, and check whether you are registered in 건강보험 as a Workplace subscriber. These two things are the starting point.
Step 2: Submit the application form to an NHIS branch
You need to visit a National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) branch and submit an application form for exclusion from Long-Term Care Insurance enrollment. It is not an automatic change.
Step 3: In principle, exclusion starts from the application date
Once the application is received, you are usually removed from Long-Term Care Insurance enrollment starting from the day you applied. So if you apply late, the insurance premium for the earlier period may still remain.
Step 4: If within 14 days, it is recalculated from the beginning
If you apply within 14 days from the date you got Workplace subscriber status, the exclusion goes back to the date that status started. So it is important to apply without being late.
Is only E-8 newly made an exception?
An important point for understanding this measure is that E-8 did not newly get special treatment alone. Similar short-stay and work-related visas already had a framework for applying for exceptions.
| Visa | Main nature | |
|---|---|---|
| D-3 | Industrial training | |
Flow of exclusion from Long-Term Care Insurance It has been mentioned together in the related exception application framework. | ||
| Non-professional Worker | Non-professional Worker | |
| Working Visit | Working Visit | |
| E-8 | Seasonal Worker | |
Why did they look at E-8 first?
When you look at the numbers, the reason becomes clearer. E-8 is a visa made to fill seasonal labor shortages in farming and fishing villages, so the allocation size grew quickly, and the effect of policy changes was easy to see right away in the field.
This news, where should you start so it feels less confusing?
The key point of this change can be organized again into the first three promises. Why they were paid together was because when you join 건강보험, the legal system makes the Long-Term Care Insurance premium attach together too. What changed is that if an E-8 seasonal worker applies, they can be excluded from that insurance. How to understand it is this: rather than giving one completely new benefit, it is more accurate to read it as an adjustment that widened the exception for people who stay for a short time.
If similar news comes out later, you only need to check three things first. First, whether it is a structure automatically tied to 건강보험. Second, whether the automatic application changed or whether you need to apply yourself. Third, how long that visa stays and how likely it is that the person will actually use the system. If you have these standards, even when policy news comes out, you can read much more clearly what is the rule and what is the exception.
Tied structure: when you join 건강보험, whether other insurance premiums are attached too
Need to apply: whether it changes automatically, or whether you need to apply yourself
Exception standard: whether it reflects the stay period and the real possibility of using it
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