More Than 10,000 Fake Health Insurance Workplace Registrations Detected in Four Years, Including a Bedridden Nonagenarian

More than 10,000 people falsely claimed workplace-based health insurance status in South Korea over the past four years, reducing the premiums they would otherwise have owed. In one case, relatives registered a bedridden person in his 90s as an employee of a family company.

Data submitted by the National Health Insurance Service to Heo Jong-sik, a Democratic Party lawmaker on the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee, showed 10,269 detected cases between 2022 and 2025. The annual total rose from 1,067 in 2022 to 1,952 in 2023 and then 3,991 in 2024, before falling slightly to 3,259 last year.

Authorities imposed a combined 74.566 billion won in additional charges during the four-year period. Through July this year, they had detected another 2,431 cases and imposed 22.172 billion won in charges.

People who do not work can generally receive coverage as dependents of family members. Those with substantial income or assets may lose dependent status and instead pay premiums as regional subscribers. The article said a 96-year-old person who was caught had enough rental income and property to face high regional premiums.