Actress Shin Eun Kyung and comedian Lee Jin Ho have been listed among high-value, habitual delinquents of South Korea’s four major social insurance contributions.
On December 30, the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), led by Chairman Jung Ki Suk, publicly disclosed the personal details of 13,449 individuals who have repeatedly failed to pay mandatory social insurance premiums. The list includes 10,444 cases related to health insurance, 2,424 involving the national pension, and 581 tied to employment and industrial accident insurance.
Those subject to disclosure are individuals who, as of December 31 last year, had failed to pay insurance premiums for over one year and exceeded the following thresholds: at least 10 million KRW (approximately 7,000 USD) in unpaid health insurance fees, 20 million KRW (about 14,000 USD) in pension contributions, or 50 million KRW (around 34,500 USD) in employment or industrial accident insurance premiums.
Among the disclosed names are actress Shin Eun Kyung and comedian Lee Jin Ho. Shin Eun Kyung reportedly failed to pay approximately 95.17 million KRW (about 65,800 USD) in health insurance premiums between February 2014 and October 2021. Lee Jin Ho, meanwhile, was found to have unpaid health insurance premiums totaling about 28.84 million KRW (approximately 22,200 USD) from April to December 2023.
The NHIS explained that the disclosure system is designed to prevent moral hazard among policyholders and encourage voluntary payment, thereby strengthening the financial stability of the social insurance system.
An NHIS official stated, “If a delinquent individual whose personal details have been disclosed pays their outstanding balance and the amount falls below the disclosure threshold, their name is immediately removed from the list. We continuously manage and update the disclosed list.” The official added, “We will continue to repeatedly inform both currently disclosed individuals and those scheduled for future disclosure to encourage voluntary payment of overdue insurance premiums.”
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