Supreme Court Ruling on Industrial Accident Disability Benefits Calculation Date and Survivor Inheritance

On May 20, 2026, the Supreme Court of South Korea delivered a pivotal judgment concerning the calculation standard for industrial accident disability benefits and the succession of claims. The case arose when the original recipient of disability benefits passed away, and their children sought to inherit the remaining payments. The Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service argued benefits should be calculated based on the average wage at the time of the original accident, while the children contended the payment decision date should apply, which would yield higher amounts due to wage inflation. The Court clarified that disability benefits shall be assessed by the payment decision date, and crucially, if the entitled survivor dies, the uncollected benefit rights are legally inherited by their direct descendants.

The Supreme Court ruled that disability benefits must be calculated using the average wage at the payment decision date, not the accident date. It also held that the claim to such benefits constitutes a property right that is transferred to the children as inheritors upon the beneficiary's death.

The key disputes were twofold: whether the reference date for calculating industrial accident disability benefits should be the accident date or the payment decision date, and whether the right to receive unpaid disability benefits can be inherited by the children upon the eligible survivor's death.

This decision significantly enhances protection for injured workers and their families by ensuring benefits keep pace with contemporary wage levels, preventing value erosion. It establishes a critical legal precedent confirming the heritability of social security entitlements, thereby securing long-term financial support for bereaved children.