Guide for Exemption Application under the Agreement between Korea and Finland

How to be exempted from Finnish Social Security Contributions

• If you are mandatorily covered by the Korean legislation and detached to Finland for temporary work (or self-employment), you can be exempt from Finnish social security contributions, provided that you obtain "a Certificate of Coverage under the Social Security Agreement" from the National Pension Service of Korea.
• 1. A Request for a Korean Certificate of Coverage

  - If you are an employee, your employer in Korea must request a Korean certificate of coverage.

  - If you are self-employed, you yourself must request a Korean Certificate of Coverage.

• (1) Who requires a Korean Certificate of Coverage?
  • ① An employee who is sent to work in Finland for a certain period of time (no more than 5 years) by an employer in Korea.
  • ② An employee specified in ① who is granted an extension of the detached period on condition of mutual agreement between the two countries.
  • ③ A person who is ordinarily self-employed in Korea and temporarily engages in self-employed activities in Finland for no more than 5 years.
  • ④A self-employed person specified in ③ who is granted an extension of the detached period on condition of mutual agreement between the two countries.
• (2) How to request a Korean certificate of coverage?
  • ① The employer must request a Korean Certificate of Coverage by visiting the National Pension Service of Korea with the required documents or sending the required documents to the National Pension Service of Korea by EDI, mail or fax.
  • National Pension Service, Center for International Affairs, 6^th Floor, Kukmin-Yeonkum Building, 180, Giji-Ro, Deokjin-Gu, Jeonju-Si, JEONBUK STATE, 54870, Korea
    - Fax (063)900-3404
• (3) Required Documents
  • ① When you request the Certificate, you must submit an "Application for Certificate of Coverage under the Social Security Agreement between Korea and Finland" and documents to confirm the employee's detachment such as a detachment order and coverage of the unemployment insurance.
  • ② An"Application for Certificate of Coverage under the Social Security Agreement between Korea and Finland" form is available on our web-site -> Social Security Agreement -> Forms. You can also obtain this document by contacting NPS' Center for International Affairs.
• 2. Exemption from Finnish social security contributions
  • An employer who is responsible for paying pension contributions is exempt from paying social security contributions for the period specified on a Korean Certificate of Coverage under the Social Security Agreement and should bear a Certificate of Coverage all the time in case of request from a labor authority.
    If a contributor has already paid contributions for the previous exemption period, within a certain period, he/she is able to request a refund according to the internal procedure. However, in some cases, there could be limitations on the period regarding retroactive exemptions, so we recommend that you request the exemption in time.

How to be exempted from Korean National Pension Scheme

If you are mandatorily covered by the Finnish social security system and temporarily work in Korea, you can be exempted from the Korean National Pension Scheme, provided that you get "a Certificate of Coverage under the Social Security Agreement" from a Finnish Competent Institution and submit it to the Korean National Pension Service.

• 1. A Request for a Finnish Certificate of Coverage
  - If you are an employee, your employer in Finland must request a Finnish Certificate of Coverage.
• (1) Who requires a Finnish Certificate of Coverage?
  • ①An employee who is sent to work in Korea for a certain period of time (no more than 5 years) by an employer in Finland.
  • ②An employee specified in ① who is granted an extension of the detached period on condition of mutual agreement between the two countries.
• (2) How to request a Finnish Certificate of Coverage?
  • - You must request a Certificate of Coverage from the relevant Finnish Competent Institution with the required documents according to its internal regulations.
• (3) Issuing Competent Institution of Finnish Certificate of Coverage
  • - Finnish Centre for Pensions (www.etk.fi)

• 2. Submission of the Certificate of Coverage to the Korean National Pension Service
  • ①The following must be submitted by your employer if you are an employee or by you personally if you are self-employed; an "application of exemption" as well as an original copy of "Finnish Certificate of Coverage under the Social Security Agreement", and a copy of your identification to the Center for International Affairs or the regional office by visiting or by sending a registered letter (Because an original copy must be submitted, a facsimile will not be accepted).
  • ② If you submit a "Finnish Certificate of Coverage under the Social Security Agreement", you are exempt from Coverage under the Korean legislation for the period shown on the same certificate. If you have already paid contributions before you submit your certificate, the amount of the contributions already paid can be transferred to your due contributions or refunded. However, in accordance with the regulations of the Korean National Pension Act, the right to request a refund of mistaken payments of contributions is valid only up to 5 years from the day following the processing of a qualification change.
  • ※ Information here on our web-site is a general guide. You can get more information about the exemption of coverage from the Center for International Affairs of the NPS or from any regional office of the NPS.