Main Contents of the Social Security Agreement Between Korea and Japan

History of the Agreement with Japan

• Oct. 1998 : Agreed on negotiating a Social Security Agreement between Korea and Japan
• Dec. 2001 :Held the first round of preliminary talks for the Social Security Agreement in Korea
• Jun. 2002 :Held the second round of preliminary talks for the Social Security Agreement in Japan
• Mar. 2003 :Held the first round of Negotiation Meetings for the Agreement in Korea
• Jul. 2003 :Held the second round of Negotiation Meetings for the Agreement in Japan
• Oct. 2003 :Held the third round of Negotiation Meetings for the Agreement in Korea
• Feb. 2004 :Signed the Agreement on Social Security between Korea and Japan
• Jul. 2004 :Held meetings for the Implementation of the Agreement between Agencies of both countries
• Sep. 2004 :Signed the Administrative Arrangement of the Agreement
• Jan. 2005 :Completed the written notification from one country to the other country that each country has complied with all requirements for entry into force of this Agreement
• Apr. 2005 :Social Security Agreement between Korea and Japan entered into force

Applicable Legislation

• With respect to Korea,
  • (1) the National Pension Scheme
• With respect to Japan,
  
  • (1) the National Pension (except the Old Age Welfare Pension or any other pensions which are granted on a transitional or complementary basis for the purpose of welfare and which are payable wholly or mainly out of national budgetary resources)
    (2) the Employees’ Pension Insurance
    (3) the Mutual Aid Pension for National Public Officials
    (4) the Mutual Aid Pension for Local Public Officials and Personnel of Similar Status
    (5) the Mutual Aid Pension for Private School Personnel

Personal Scope of this Agreement

• This Agreement shall apply to any person who is or who has been subject to the legislation of either Korea or Japan, and to the dependents and survivors of such a person, irrespective of their nationality. Therefore, any person such as a national of the contracting country, a stateless person, a refugee or a national of a third country who is or has been subject to the legislation of either contracting country shall be covered by this agreement with his/her dependents and survivors.
• ※ For more information, you may refer to the section Text of Agreement

Exemption from Dual Coverage

• ①In general, an employee or a self-employed person who works in the territory of one contracting country, in respect of that work, is subject to the legislation of that contracting country.
• ②Where an employee or an self-employed person works in both countries for the same period, the person is subject to the legislation of a contracting country in which he/she ordinarily resides.
• ③A detached worker is exempt from coverage under the pension system of the contracting country which he/she is sent to for less than 5 years if he/she is covered under the pension scheme of his/her home country.(a 3-year extension is available by the consent between both countries' agencies)
• ④If a person who has been self-employed in one contracting country is temporarily self-employed for less than 5 years exclusively in the other contracting country, he/she is subject to the legislation of the former contracting country and exempt from coverage under the pension system of the latter contracting country. (a 3-year extension is available by the consent between both countries' agencies)
• ⑤The spouse and dependents of a detached worker are exempt from coverage under the pension system of the contracting country where the detached worker is sent for less than 5 years if they are not engaged in income-earning activities in that contracting country.
• ※ For more information, you may refer to the section Agreement or Guide for Exemption Application

[Countries that employees and the self-employed pay their contributions to]

Countries that employees and the self-employed pay their contributions to

Type	Work Status	Coverage
Employee	Employed in Japan
	- you are employed and working in Japan	Japan
	- you are employed in Korea and sent to work in Japan for less than 5 years(a 3-year extension is available)	Korea
	- you are employed in Korea and sent to work in Japan for more than 5 years(without getting approval for an extension)	Japan
	- you are self-employed in Korea ordinarily residing in Korea and you are also employed in Japan	Korea
	- you ordinarily reside in Korea but you are employed in both Korea and Japan	Korea
	employed in Korea
	- you are employed and working in Korea	Korea
	- you are employed in Japan and sent to work in Korea for less than 5 years(a 3-year extension is available)	Japan
	- you are employed in Japan and sent to work in Korea for more than 5 years(without getting approval for an extension)	Korea
	- you are self-employed in Japan ordinarily residing in Japan and you are also employed in Korea	Japan
	- you ordinarily reside in Japan but you are employed in both Korea and Japan	Japan
Self-employed	Self-employed in Japan
	- you have not been self-employed in Korea and you are self-employed in Japan	Japan
	- you have been self-employed in Korea and you are self-employed in Japan for less than 5 years	Korea
	- you ordinarily reside in Korea but are self-employed in both Korea and Japan	Korea
	- you are employed in Korea ordinarily residing in Korea but are self-employed in Japan	Korea
	Self-employed in Korea
	- you have not been self-employed in Japan and you are self-employed in Korea	Korea
	- you have been self-employed in Japan and you are self-employed in Korea for less than 5 years	Japan
	- you ordinarily reside in Japan but are self-employed in both Korea and Japan	Japan
	- you are employed in Japan ordinarily residing in Japan but are self-employed in Korea	Japan

Benefits under this Agreement

• ①Since the Agreement on Social Security Between Korea and Japan is Contributions-only Agreement, there is no provision of Totalization of Periods of Coverage for the entitlement to benefit.
• ② Therefore, there is no pension benefits under the Agreement, whether the payment is granted depends on the each country's legislation respectively.
• ③And, a Korean Lump-sum refund is not paid to the nationals of Japan.
• ※ For more information, you may refer to the section Agreement

Agencies of this Agreement

• As regards Korea,
• (1) National Pension Service (NPS)
• As regards the Japan,
• (1) Japan Pension Service International Relations Group ⇒ www.nenkin.go.jp