• 한국사회정책
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.113-150
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• 2017

This study analyzes how workers become impoverished and have their jobs less stabilized after they suffer from non-job-related sickness. Given that South Korea lacks sickness benefits, which most of OECD member states legislate and implement except US and Switzerland, this study examines its impact on laborers' job stability and povertization in Korea. The researchers have conducted in-depth interviews with nine former or present laborers who have the experiences and four experts on the issue in July-September, 2017 for the qualitative analysis. It is found that laborers, after becoming aware of their sickness, at first endure their pain without informing their employers not to lose their jobs. The attititude is observed especially among non-standard laborers, because sickness more often leads to job loss for them than for standard laborers. After workers have to leave their jobs due to their sickness in the end, they have no choice but to keep working in less stable jobs to compensate for income losses. They become gradually impoverished with their social capital like family bond declining. We observe laborers who are eligible for industrial accident insurance compensation could not benefit from the system because some employers refrain from the legal reporting duty. Due to this illegal practices, some industrial accident victims unduly lose their jobs due to "non-job-related sickness". Second, some employers report to the authority that their sick laborers have left their jobs 'voluntarily' even when they have quitted it without their volition, in which case the newly unemployed are not eligible for unemployment benefits. Large holes in Korea's safety nets for those suffering from multiple risks of sickness and unemployment.

• 한국사회복지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1995.04b
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• pp.99-116
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• 1995

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.5-16
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• 2021

Both access to healthcare services and income security in case of personal illness are being needed to achieve universal health coverage, which is enshrined in the human rights to health and social security and international standards on social protection. Income security acts on both the social determinants and the adverse consequences of ill health and thus would break the vicious disease-poverty cycle. The government is supposed to implement a demonstration project of sickness benefit in 2022 and to publicize its more specific blueprint for all workers. This study is to suggest basic principles and a framework to design a new sickness benefit for universal health coverage, which is based on reviews on previous studies, related issues, and institutional conditions. This is to provide a theoretical basis to promote further discussion and to support its decision-making.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2024

Objectives: Presenteeism is known to be a much more economically damaging social cost than disease rest while going to work despite physical pain. Since COVID-19, social discussions on the sickness benefit have been taking place as a countermeasure against presenteeism, and in particular, farmers and fishermen do not have an institutional mechanism for livelihood support when a disease other than work occurs. This study attempted to examine the relationship between agricultural, fishing, and forestry workers and presenteeism using the 6th Korean Work Conditions Survey. Methods: From October 2020 to January 2021, data from the 6th working conditions survey conducted on 17 cities and provinces in Korea were used, and a total of 34,981 people were studied. Control variables were gender, age, self-health assessment, education level, night work, shift work, monthly income, occupation, working hours per week, and employment status. Results: As a result of the analysis, farmers and fishermen showed the characteristics of the self-employed and the elderly, and as a result of the regression analysis, when farmers and fishermen analyzed the relationship with presenteeism tendency compared to other industry workers, farmers and fishermen increased by 23% compared to other industry groups. Conclusion: This study is significant in that it has representation by utilizing the 6th working conditions survey and objectively suggests the need for a sickness benefit for farmers and fishermen who may be overlooked in the sickness benefit.

• Analyses & Alternatives
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.147-170
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to examine the socal policy of the Yoon Seok-Yeol government from the perspective of both policy and theory. Theoretically, the analysis reveals that the Yoon government attempts to build and implement a welfare system model that was distinctly different from the previous Moon government. The newly elected government adopted a welfare model known as 'welfare for the vulnerable.' This model inherits the welfare ideology of the conservative parties in Korea, which is the self-reliance welfare. The Yoon government continues to expand welfare and family support, which were promoted by the Moon government. However, in most other areas, the Yoon government pursues different policies than the previous government. In terms of policy, this study demonstrates that the social security policies of the Yoon government is insufficient to solve the welfare blind spot problem that is widespread in the Korean welfare system. Among the Yoon government's policies, there are only a few policies that can eliminate welfare blind spots, such as improving social assistance systems, introducing parental allowance, and promoting sickness allowances.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.112-129
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• 2019

Currently, the South Korean Government does not provide sickness benefits from the National Health Insurance, which is different from most other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. The sickness benefit guarantees a part of lost income due to injuries or diseases. The purpose of this study is to propose a sickness benefit scheme for South Korea. To this end, we compare health care systems, sickness benefit schemes, and delivery systems of those in Germany, Japan, and Sweden, focusing on the seven categories: management authority, object, level of payment, duration of payment, qualification requirements, connection with paid sick leave of workplace, and financial resources, and as to delivery system, the six categories: the number of procedures, transferring document between institutions, whether or not utilizing electronic reporting system, applicant, and administrative convenience. Based on the implications derived from the case study, we propose the sickness benefit scheme and its delivery pathway and other details for South Korea. This study is first to propose the sickness benefit for health insurance in Korea with its level of details. More studies should follow with case studies of other countries, as well as productive debates to build a feasible and sustainable sickness benefit system in South Korea.