New development: Improving accident compensation for public officials

IMPACT

Public officials undertake challenging tasks to ensure safety and order in society; however, accidents can still occur at their workplace. In the event of an occupational accident, compensation is often dealt with as a labour, welfare, or legal issue in many countries; as such, there is little discussion on accident compensation in the public management field. In this context, the South Korean government’s accident compensation experience will be a useful reference for public management to improve accident compensation systems in other countries. The South Korean government implemented compensation reforms for public officials’ accidents in 2018 and enacted the Public Officials’ Accident Compensation Act to address the various identified problems. Consequently, after 2018, the Ministry of Personnel Management took charge of accident compensation for public officials and delivered the relevant services in a more transparent and accountable manner. Thus, the overall quality of public officials’ accident compensation has improved. In addition to providing examples and lessons for other jurisdictions, this study makes recommendations for improvements in South Korea.

ABSTRACT

To compensate for institutional deficiencies, the South Korean government passed new legislation on public officials’ accident compensation in 2018. The scope and eligibility criteria for accident compensation were adjusted and accident compensation levels were made more realistic. Moreover, the accident compensation review process was restructured by placing the first and second claim reviews under the Ministry of Personnel Management and the Office of the Prime Minister, respectively. This article addresses how the law related to civil servants’ compensation has changed, the main contents of the new law, the eligibility criteria for accident compensation, how they work, and future directions for further development. This fills a significant gap in the academic literature, as relatively few studies on accident compensation for public officials have been conducted in the public management field.

KEYWORDS:

• Accident compensation
• Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act
• Public Officials’ Accident Compensation Act
• South Korea

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Pan Suk Kim

Pan Suk Kim is Professor Emeritus, Department of Global Public Administration, Yonsei University, Mirae Campus, South Korea. He is a former Minister of Personnel Management of the Republic of Korea and a past president of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences. He is a commission member of the International Civil Service Commission of the United Nations and a lifetime fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.