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More Koreans eligible to receive state compensation for Covid-19 vaccine side effects

Published: 07 Apr. 2025, 17:22 Updated: 07 Apr. 2025, 21:19

LEE SOO-JUNG
[email protected]

Bereaved families of people who died after receiving Covid-19 vaccinations shed tears after a bill for state compensation passed at the National Assembly in western Seoul on April 2. [NEWS1]

A bill passed by the National Assembly last week will make more Koreans eligible for state compensation due to side effects suffered after receiving Covid-19 vaccinations.

The passing of the bill last Wednesday came around four years after the Korean government made Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory in response to the global pandemic.

The government will offer compensation to those affected by the side effects of vaccines, or the relatives of victims, if their symptoms are proven to have been caused by the vaccinations. The government seemingly intends to reduce the burden of proof needed in these cases.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), 2,170 people were reported to have died after receiving vaccinations for Covid-19. Also, 484,991 people registered illnesses as a consequence of their vaccination.

Since 2021, families and patients have demanded that the government expand its accountability. They formed an organization dubbed the Covid19 Vaccination Victims Council in the same year.

Conservative People Power Party Rep. Kim Mi-ae said the bill is a “significant sign showing that the country can show responsibility to the people who trusted the government’s health and quarantine measures.”

The latest bill differs from the previous state compensation scheme, which accepted less than 30 percent of some 100,000 complaints as valid. At the time, the KDCA only offered damage relief when the agency “determined” there was an “evident connection between the vaccination and the side effect.”

In 2022, the government said that payments given to bereaved relatives for family members that died due to the vaccine should be considered consolation. It clarified that the payment was not "compensation.”

However, the new bill recognizes state responsibility and expands the acknowledgment scope by adopting an assumption-based approach. The bill aims to offer compensation in cases where sickness or death due to the receiving the vaccination cannot be ruled out under medical theory.

A special bill that enables compensation for people who experienced side effects after receiving Covid-19 vaccination is passed at the National Assembly on April 2. [YONHAP]

The compensation will be handed out in the framework set by the Enforcement Decree of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.

Relatives of deceased victims will receive 300,000 won ($205) for funeral costs and a lump-sum payment of 240 times the state minimum wage set at the moment of the death. In 2021, the lump-sum payment was 437 million won.

For those who became disabled after the vaccination, the government will offer one-off compensation based on the severity of the symptoms. People whose disabilities are deemed severe can receive up to 100 percent of the lump-sum payment, while those with minor conditions can be eligible for up to 55 percent.

Those who suffered side effects will be able to receive financial compensation equivalent to their medical bills and a nursing stipend of 50,000 won per day over the hospitalization period.

The head of the KDCA will decide on compensation eligibility within 120 days of the complaint being filed. A separate committee for damage compensation would be established at the KDCA to review cases.

An official from the KDCA said that the specific review process has not yet been confirmed as of Monday. The official said the agency would decide how to review the cases after an enforcement decree of the bill is established.

Also, the government will give a right of appeal to applicants under the previous, relatively tighter, scheme. The appeals should be made no later than Dec. 31 this year.

Update, April 7: Added figures of reported deaths and illnesses.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]