Employer surcharge for fake workplace members rises from 10% to 40% — effective 27 November 2026 | reporting reward introduced
Today, an employer who falsely registers someone who cannot be a workplace member pays a surcharge of 10% of the premiums underpaid. From 27 November 2026 that surcharge rises to 40% of the difference, and the National Health Insurance Service may pay a reward to a person who reports the employer. It applies to false registrations made on or after the effective date.
Conditions used in the video
- Effective date
- 2026-11-27
- Promulgated
- 2026-05-26
- Basis
- National Health Insurance Act Article 78-2(1) · Article 104(1)5
- Current surcharge
- 10% of the difference
- New surcharge
- 40% of the difference
- Applies to
- false registrations on or after the effective date
Results
- Now
- 10% of the difference
- From 2026-11-27
- 40% of the difference
- Difference
- regional-member premiums − workplace-member premiums
- Who pays
- the employer who made the false registration
- Reporting reward
- new (the Service may pay one)
- Small-amount exemption
- unchanged (grounds set by decree)
Why it works this way
Today, when an employer falsely registers as a workplace member someone who cannot be one, a surcharge of 10% is added to the difference between the premiums that person should have paid as a regional member and what was paid as a workplace member. Listing a relative or acquaintance as an employee on paper to avoid regional premiums is what this catches.
National Health Insurance Act Article 78-2(1) (effective 2026-11-27).
- Differencepremiums owed as a regional member − premiums paid as a workplace member
- Nowdifference × 10%
- Amendeddifference × 40%
The surcharge is borne by the employer who made the false registration.
A reporting reward is introduced. The Service may pay a reward to a person who reports an employer that made a false registration. The fourfold surcharge and the reward come as one package.
Addenda Article 2 (application).
- On or after 2026-11-27false registrations: 40%
- Earlier false registrationsthe former 10%
- Small amountsmay be exempt on grounds set by decree (unchanged)
The surcharge itself already exists. The rate and the reward are what change.
This video and page describe a measure that has been promulgated but has not taken effect. Details may change through a decree or notice.
In short, from 27 November 2026 an employer who registers a fake workplace member pays 40% of the underpaid premium difference as a surcharge, and the person who reports it may receive a reward.
The legal basis
Drawn from government announcements and the statutes themselves as primary sources, covering only the relevant part.
National Health Insurance Act Article 78-2(1) (Surcharge)
In force Effective 2026-11-27 (promulgated 2026-05-26; Addenda Article 1 proviso)
Where an employer falsely reports as a workplace member a person who cannot be one, 40/100 of the amount obtained by subtracting the total premiums imposed as a workplace member from the total premiums that should have been borne as a regional member is imposed and collected as a surcharge. Collection may be waived on grounds prescribed by Presidential Decree, such as small amounts.
What this means
Four tenths of the underpaid difference is added like a fine. The arithmetic of dodging regional premiums with a paper employee flips for registrations made after the effective date.
National Health Insurance Act Article 104(1)5 (Rewards)
In force Effective 2026-11-27
The Service may pay a reward to a person who reports an employer that made a false report under Article 78-2(1).
What this means
A fake workplace member is now something to report. Anyone who knows has an incentive to do so.
Run it on your own numbers
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Frequently asked
How is the difference calculated?
The total premiums the person should have paid as a regional member minus the total actually charged as a workplace member. 40% of that is the surcharge.
Who pays the surcharge?
The employer who made the false registration, that is, the company. It falls on the party that registered, not the person registered.
Does 40% apply to fake employees registered before the effective date?
No. It applies to false registrations made on or after the effective date. Earlier ones stay at the former 10%.
How much is the reward?
The Act says the Service may pay one; the amount and criteria are set in subordinate rules. Check the notice issued before the effective date for a fixed figure.
Results are estimates based on the inputs and on the rules as at the stated date. They may differ from a lender's actual assessment, and the rules change often. Take professional advice before any decision that matters.