Compensation for damages
Compensation for damages caused by driving a motor vehicle
- In cases where a driver causes bodily harm or damages another person’s property while driving, the damages shall be compensated (Article 750 of the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation Act, Article 3 and Civil Act).
Compensation for damages in accordance with the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation
- The purpose of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation is to establish a system by which compensation for the death or injury of any person and the destruction or damage of any property, when caused by the operation of an automobile, is guaranteed in order to protect victims and to promote the sound development of transportation by automobiles. It is a special act of the Civil Act.
- Except as otherwise prescribed by Article 3 of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation, the provisions of the Civil Act shall apply to liability for damages caused by persons who operate an automobile for their personal use (Article 4 of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation).
Liability of the owner of a motor vehicle for compensation for damages
- In cases where a driver causes bodily harm or damages another person’s property while driving, the damages shall be compensated (Article 3 of the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation Act).
- The liability for damages shall not apply in the following cases (Article 3 of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation).
· In cases involving the death or injury of a person other than a passenger, when it has been proven that
√ the person responsible for operating the automobile and the driver thereof were not negligent in its operation;
√ a victim or a third party, other than the person operating the automobile and the driver thereof, committed an intentional or negligent act;
√ there was no defect in the structure or no problems with the functions of the automobile.
· In cases involving the death or injury of a passenger, when the passenger has died or been injured as a result of his/her intentional or suicidal act.
Compensation for damages according to the Civil Act
- Except as otherwise prescribed by Article 3 of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation, the provisions of the Civil Act shall apply to the liability for damages caused by a person(s) who operates an automobile for personal use. The Civil Act here refers to the provisions on illegal action (from Article 750 to 766).
- Therefore, the provisions of the Civil Act shall also apply to the requirements, scope and method of compensation for damages, comparative negligence, obligor’s subrogation, scope of compensation claimant, inheritance of the right to claim, statutory agent, extinction of the right to claim, offset of profits and losses, claim of mitigation, collective illegal conduct, user’s liability, and so forth.
- Any person who causes losses to or inflicts injuries on another person by an unlawful act, willfully or negligently, shall be bound to pay compensation for any damages arising therefrom (Article 750 of the Civil Act).
Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation
Government’s compensation for casualties
- In the event of any of the following situations, the Government shall, upon the claim of a victim, pay damages to the victim to the extent of the amount coverable by liability insurance (Article 30(1) of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation).
· Where a victim has died or been injured due to an accident caused by the operation of an automobile whose owner remains unidentified
· Where a person other than a policyholder, etc. has been liable to compensate damages under Article 3 of the insurance policy (Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation. This shall not apply to any accident caused by the operation of the automobiles specified below (Article 5(4) of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation and Article 5 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation).
√ Motor vehicles belonging to the UN army stationed in South Korea.
√ Motor vehicles belonging to the US army stationed in South Korea.
√ Motor vehicles possessed by foreigners who do not belong to the above two groups, as designated by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
√ Tow trucks or automobiles designed to travel on roads.
√ Motors vehicle which are only used in places other than roads according to their function and purpose (in accordance with Article 2(1) of the Road Traffic Act).
· If a person dies or sustains injury due to an objectfalling from a motor vehicle whose owner is unknown
- The government may investigate an accident under its own authority and without the request of the victim, and compensate his/her damages within the limit of liability insurance (Article 30(1) of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation).
※ Support for Victims of Traffic Accidents
· The Government may render aid to the children and other dependent family members of a person killed due to the operation of an automobile or of a person who has been left disabled with serious sequelae (i.e. consequences of injury) in order to resolve certain hardships, such as in cases where the victim has been obliged to give up his/her studies, etc. owing to economic difficulties, and to help a person with serious sequelae to recover (Article 30(2) of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation).
· Persons eligible for support
√ The government may support those who meet all of the following requirements and are selected under Article 23(2) of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation (Article 21(1) (main text) thereof).
· Accident victims with serious sequelae, or the surviving children and dependent family members of the deceased or the aforesaid victims
· Their living conditions fall under the standard set by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in consideration of the standard median income according to the National Basic Living Security Act, and thus they may have difficulty in continuing to make a living, study or take rehabilitation treatment (only applicable to accident victims with serious sequelae),
· Standard of support (Article 22(1) of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation)
1. Persons disabled with serious sequelae:
A. Support for the costs of using a medical institution according to the Medical Service Act or a rehabilitation institution according to the Act on the Welfare of Persons with Disabilities or other expenses required for convalescence.
B. Provision of a Scholarship for continuous learning.
2. Children:
A. Loan of money for living expenses.
B. Provision of a Scholarship for continuous learning.
C. Provision of support funds (hereinafter referred to as ‘self-reliance support’) in accordance with the amount of money which the guardian of the children (the person with parental rights, patron, person who protects, cares for and educates or has the responsibility for such actions, or the person who actually protects and supervises the children in a working or employing relationship) has saved under the name of the children.
3. Dependent family members: provision of support in consideration of the level of living of senior parents, etc.
4. Support program for mental health treatment including psychotherapy for persons falling under items 1 to 3
· Amount of support
The amount of support shall be determined by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport who calculates within 1/2 of the standard amount in consideration of government financial resources (Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation, Article 22(2) and Attached Table 4).
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Target of support
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Classification of support
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Standard amount
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1. Persons disabled with serious sequelae
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A. Rehabilitation support
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KRW 200,000 per month
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B. Scholarship
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KRW 300,000 per quarter
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2. Children
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A. Interest-free loan of money for living expenses
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KRW 150,000 per month
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B. Scholarship
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KRW 300,000 per quarter
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C. Support for self-reliance
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KRW 60,000 per month
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3. Dependent family
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Support
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KRW 200,000 per month
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※ The Korea Transportation Safety Authority is an authorized agency for supporting the compensation of damages caused by traffic accidents (Article 35(3) of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation).
※ The website of the Korea Transportation Safety Authority (
www.kotsa.or.kr) presents the contents of the support program in detail.
Victim’s claim for compensation for damages
Claims for insurance, etc.
- In cases where liability for damage has been incurred by a policyholder, etc. the relevant victim may file a claim for insurance payouts with the insurer, etc. so that such payouts are directly paid to him/her. In such cases, the victim may request that the insurer, etc. pay the amount equivalent to medical fees covered by car insurance directly to the medical institution that has provided him/her with medical treatment (Article 10(1) of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation).
- In cases where an insurer, etc. is informed of the occurrence of a motor vehicle accident through a claim for damage filed by either a policyholder, etc. or a victim of such motor vehicle accident under the latter part of Article 10(1), or by other means, the insurer, etc. shall, without delay, notify the medical institution treating the patient for injuries sustained as a result of such motor vehicle accident as to whether the medical fees covered by motor vehicle insurance will be paid for that treatment and as to the upper limit on such payment (Article 12(1) of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation).
- In cases where a policyholder, etc. has paid damages to the relevant victim before the insurer, etc. pays an insurance payout, etc., the policyholder, etc. may request the insurer, etc. to reimburse the sum that he/she has paid to the victim to the upper limit on insurance payouts, etc. (Article 10(2) of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation).
Advance payment to victim
- In cases where a policyholder, etc. has caused the death of or injury to another person due to the operation of a motor vehicle, the relevant victim may request his/her insurer, etc. to pay the total amount of medical fees covered by motor vehicle insurance, as prescribed by Article 7 of the Presidential Decree, and to pay for the insurance, etc. the amount prescribed in the following way as advance payments of the insurance payouts provided under Article 10(Article 11(1) of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation).
· For one victim, 50/100 of damages within the amount prescribed by the following classification (Article 10 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation).
√ Death: KRW 150 million
√ Injury: limit amount for each injury specified in Attached Table 1 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation
√ Sequelae: limit amount for each physical disability specified in Attached Table 2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation
Compensation procedure for damages caused by traffic accidents
※ Documents to be submitted when claiming for insurance (Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation, Article 7(1), (2), and Enforcement Regulation of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation, Article 5)
- Claimfor insurance (① name and address of the claimant, ② relationship between the claimant and the deceased, ③ name and address of the victim and the perpetrator (excludingcases where a victim has died or been injured due to an accident that occurredduring the operation of a motor vehicle, the owner of which is unidentified, orwhere a victim has died or been injured due to an object that fell during theoperation of a motor vehicle, the owner of which is unidentified) ④ date, location and summary of the accident, ⑤ model and registration number of the motor vehicleconcerned, ⑥name and address of the insured, ⑦ claimed money and grounds for its calculation)
- Medical certificate or death certificate.
- Documentary evidence (which prove items ②, ③, ④).
- Bill of statement and present value assessment of future medical costs (doctor’s statement of opinion) for medical treatment issued by a medical institution, specifying the unit, quantity, amount, etc. of the medical expenses.
※ Documents to be submitted when filing a claim for compensation under the automobile accident compensation program (Article 20(1), 2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Guarantee of Automobile Accident Compensation)
- Claim for insurance (① name and address of the claimant, ② relationship between the claimant and the deceased (only in cases where the victim has died as a result of an accident), ③ name and address of the victim and the perpetrator (excluding cases where the identity of the owner of the motor vehicle remains unknown), ④ date, location and summary of the accident, ⑤ model and registration number(excluding cases where the identity of the owner of the motor vehicle remains unknown) of the motor vehicle concerned, ⑥ name and address of the insured, ⑦ claimed money).
- Medical certificate or death certificate.
- Documentary evidence which can prove items ②,③,④ (the document proving ④ shall contain the confirmation sign of the chief of the police station responsible for supervising the scene of the accident).
※ Claim for state compensation for damages sustained by motor vehicles, etc. due to the poor management of roads
- Confirmation of road management agencies
· Road management agencies shall be classified as follows (Article 20(1) of the Road Act).
√ National highways (including branch lines): The Minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs
√ State-funded local highways: The Special Self-Governing City Mayor, Province(do) Governors or the Governor of a Special Self-Governing Province (the competent mayor in cases involving sections of road located in a Special Metropolitan City or a Metropolitan City).
√ Other roads: The administrative agency responsible for approving the routes in question.
- Claims for state compensation
· In cases where a person is damaged by the unlawful actions of a public official or the defective construction or management of a road, a river or any other public structure, the person concerned should file a claim for compensation to the State or to the local government (State Compensation Act, Articles 2 and 5).
- Filing an application for compensation to a local district council
· A person who desires to receive compensation shall file an application for compensation with the District Council having jurisdiction over the area in which the person’s domicile or seat is located, or where the cause for such claim for compensation has occurred (Article 12(1) of the State Compensation Act).
· A District Council consists of a headquarters council (Ministry of Justice) and local district councils (14 in the country).