South Korea to expand benefits, insurance coverage for military conscripts

The government will significantly expand compensation and support for young people serving in the military, introducing new group accident insurance for active-duty soldiers and a post-discharge real-loss insurance plan, while raising the age ceiling for youth policy programs.

The government announced the measures Thursday as part of a policy improvement plan for military-serving youth.

The Ministry of National Defense will introduce group accident insurance covering all mandatory-service personnel, including active-duty soldiers and standing reserve troops. Developed in collaboration with the postal insurance arm of the Ministry of Science and ICT, the plan aims to provide broad coverage for illnesses and injuries sustained during service — including fracture and amputation benefits and mental illness consolation payments.

Some local governments, including Gyeonggi Province, already run their own accident insurance programs for military personnel, but critics have pointed out that soldiers receive different levels of support depending on where they live, with disparities in eligibility, covered items and compensation amounts for the same service-related illnesses and injuries.

The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs will expand post-discharge medical support by introducing a public real-loss insurance plan. Under the policy, veterans will be eligible for coverage for 18 months after discharge, regardless of whether their condition arose during service.

Currently, the ministry fully covers medical costs at veterans hospitals and affiliated hospitals for veterans whose service-related illnesses or injuries are recognized as causally linked to their military duty. Where a causal link is not established, it covers 50 percent of out-of-pocket costs, but only for serious or intractable conditions that developed during service. In practice, veterans have faced significant difficulty proving that link.

The government will also raise the age limit for youth policy programs. Under current rules, some programs cap eligibility at age 34, meaning veterans who age out of the limit during their service period are left unable to access benefits upon discharge.

The Office for Government Policy Coordination reviewed central government youth programs to identify where age-limit extensions were needed, and ministries have agreed to raise their respective ceilings — including the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's public pre-sale housing and integrated public rental housing programs for young people. The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs also plans to amend the Act on Support for Discharged Soldiers to establish a legal basis for factoring in military service periods when calculating age eligibility for youth programs.