Main Contents of the Social Security Agreement Between Korea and France

History of the Agreement with France

• Sep. 2004 : Agreed on negotiating a Social Security Agreement between Korea and France, sent a Korean proposal to France
• Dec. 1996 : Held the first round of Negotiation Meetings for the Agreement in France
• Nov. 2001 : Held the second round of Negotiation Meetings for the Agreement in Korea
• May 2003 : Held the third round of Negotiation Meetings for the Agreement in France
• Apr. 2004 : Agreed on the text of the Agreement and initialed it in Korea
• Apr. 2004 : Held negotiation meetings for the Administrative Arrangement in Korea
• Oct. 2004 : Held a meeting for the Implementation of the Agreement between Agencies of both countries
• Dec. 2005 : Provided a written notification to France that the Korean National Assembly has ratified the Agreement and complied with all requirements for entry into force of this Agreement
• May 2006 : Signed the Administrative Arrangement for the Agreement
• Mar. 2007 : Received written notification from France that French Parliament has ratified the Agreement and complied with all requirements for entry into force of this Agreement

Applicable Legislation

Applicable Legislation

Coree

France

i) la legislation sur les pensions nationales; ii) la legislation sur la reparation des accidents du travail; iii) la legislation sur l’assurance maladie publique.

i) la legislation fixant l’organisation de la securite sociale; ii) la legislation fixant le regime des assurances sociales applicables: - aux travailleurs salaries des professions non agricoles; - aux travailleurs salaries des professions agricoles; iii) la legislation relative a la prevention et a la reparation des accidents du travail et de maladies professionnelles ; la legislation sur l’assurance contre les accidents du travail et les maladies professionnelles des non salaries agricoles; iv) la legislation relative aux prestations familiales; v) les legislations relatives aux regimes speciaux de securite sociale en tant qu’ils concernent les risques et prestations couverts par les legislations enumerees ci-dessus, a l’exclusion toutefois du regime special de la fonction publique; vi) la legislation sur l’assurance maladie et maternite pour les non salaries des professions non agricoles et la legislation sur l’assurance maladie et maternite pour les non salaries des professions agricoles; vii) la legislation sur les allocations vieillesse et l’assurance vieillesse pour les non salaries des professions non agricoles, la legislation concernant l’assurance vieillesse et invalidite pour les membres du clerge et des Ordres religieux, la legislation sur l’assurance vieillesse pour les avocats et la legislation sur l’assurance vieillesse pour les non salaries des professions agricoles.

Personal Scope of this Agreement

• This agreement shall apply to any person is or who has been subject to the legislation of either Korea or France, 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 entitled Text of Agreement

Exemption from Dual Coverage

• ① In general, an employee is subject to the legislation of a contracting country in which he/she is employed.
• ② A self-employed person is subject to the legislation of a contracting country in which the person ordinarily resides.
• ③ If a person is employed in the territory of one contracting country and is self-employed in the territory of the other contracting country for the same period, he/she is subject to the legislation of the contracting country in which he/she originally resides.
• ④ A detached worker is exempt from coverage under the legislation of the contracting country which he/she is sent to for less than 3 years if he/she is covered under the legislation of his/her home country.This 3-year limit can be extended to 6 years with the proper consent between agencies of both countries.
• ※ For more information, you may refer to the section entitled Agreement or Guide for Exemption Application

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

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

Type	Work Status	Coverage
Employee	Working in France
	- you are employed and working in France	France
	- you are employed in Korea and sent to work in France for less than 3 years (agreement on a 3-year extension is available)	Korea
	- you are employed in Korea and sent to work in France for more than 3 years without an extension agreement	France
	Working in Korea
	- you are employed and working in Korea	Korea
	- you are employed in France and sent to work in Korea for less than 3 years (agreement on a 3-year extension is available)	France
	- you are employed in France and sent to work in Korea for more than 3 years without an extension agreement	Korea
Self-employed	Self-employed in France	Korea
	Self-employed in Korea	France

Benefits under this Agreement

• Even though your periods of coverage in one country are not sufficient to qualify for pension benefits, you may be eligible for benefits after this agreement has entered into force. This is possible due to totalization of coverage in both countries.
• ① Korean National Pension Benefits under the Social Security Agreement
• If you have a period of more than 12 months insured in Korea but do not have enough periods of coverage (e.g., 20 years for Full Old-age pension) to qualify for pension benefits under the Korean pension system, you may be able to qualify for Korean benefits by totalizing periods of coverage under the Korean pension system and the French pension system. However, those periods creditable under the French pension system, must not coincide with the periods under the legislation of Korea.
  
  Your benefit is calculated by dividing the Korean periods of coverage by the total periods of coverage and then multiplying by the theoretical benefit. The theoretical benefit is calculated based on the totalized periods in both countries.
• ② French Pension Benefits under the Social Security Agreement
• If you have a period of more than 12 months insured in France but do not have enough periods of coverage (e.g., 20 years for Full Old-age pension) to qualify for pension benefits under the French pension system, you may be able to qualify for French benefits by totalizing periods of coverage under the Korean pension system and the French pension system. However, those periods creditable under the Korean pension scheme, must not coincide with the periods under the legislation of France.
  
  Your benefit is calculated by dividing the French periods of coverage by the total periods of coverage and then multiplying by the theoretical benefit. The theoretical benefit is calculated based on the totalized periods in both countries.
• If you do not have enough periods of coverage to qualify for France pension benefits under the France Pension Plan(FPP), you may be able to qualify for France pension benefits by totalizing periods of coverage under the Korean pension system and the France Pension Plan(FPP). However, those periods creditable under the Korean pension scheme, must not coincide with the periods the France Pension Plan(FPP).
• ③ A person who is or has been subject to the laws of one contracting country and who resides within the territory of the other contracting country shall, together with his dependents, receive equal treatment with the nationals of the other contracting country in the application of the laws of the other contracting country regarding the eligibility for and the payment of benefits.
• ④ A Korean lump-sum refund is paid to French nationals. However, whether a lump-sum refund is paid to a national of a third country depends on the reciprocity principle stipulated in the Korean National Pension Act.
• ⑤ However, since there is no provision for a lump-sum refund in the legislation of the French Social Insurance Pension System, Korean people cannot be paid a lump-sum refund from the French Social Insurance Pension System. Instead, the contributions to the French Pension System may be calculated toward pension payments according to the legislation of the French Social Insurance Pension System.
• ※ For more information, you may refer to the section entitled Agreement or Guide for Exemption Application

As regards

As regards Korea,

As regards France,

(1) National Pension Service (NPS)

(1) For general employees or self-employed persons, an agency which issues certificate of coverage - L'assurance Maladie (www.ameli.fr) (2) For detached workers, an agency which issues a certificate of coverage, - A social security institution which takes charge of the concerned employee, or - For employees covered in the general scheme, a social security institution located in the same region with the workplace (3) An agency which receives applications for extension of detached period. - Center of European and International Liaisons for Social Security (www.cleiss.fr) (4) An agency of social security agreement: Center of European and International Liaisons for Social Security(www.cleiss.fr) (5) Benefits Application: A social security institution in charge of the applicant(www.cnav.fr)