Land ministry tightens reviews of long-term minor-injury treatment

The land ministry said patients with minor injuries from accidents occurring from Sept. 10 will face a review before insurers extend auto-insurance coverage for treatment beyond eight weeks, seeking to ease pressure on premiums.

Minor-injury patients numbered 1.488 million in auto insurance in 2024, when their treatment costs reached 1.41 trillion won, up from 1 trillion won in 2019.

Insurers must notify medical institutions by post or electronic means of their intent and limits to pay auto-insurance medical fees, including a patient's name, accident date and injury details where known. For patients with minor injuries, the initial payment authorization lasts four weeks. Insurers may request medical certificates from patients seeking treatment beyond that point; without a certificate within four weeks of an accident, they must notify the patient and medical provider that the authorization has ended.

The review applies to patients with injuries classified in grades 12 through 14. For treatment beyond eight weeks, insurers may request records on injury severity and treatment progress, which patients must submit within seven weeks of an accident. Insurers must promptly send the materials to the Automobile Insurance Compensation Promotion Agency, which must notify the patient and insurer of its assessment of the need for care and its duration within seven days. About 200 medical and Korean medicine specialists with at least 10 years of experience at general hospitals are to be appointed as review panel members.

Patients who contest the agency's finding may seek a review by the mutual-aid dispute mediation subcommittee within seven days. The subcommittee must decide within 14 days after receiving the materials and notify the patient and insurer of its decision.

Pregnant women and children aged 7 or younger will be allowed to continue treatment without a review. Insurers and mutual-aid associations will bear document-issuance costs and treatment expenses until the review is complete.

"We will make every effort to effectively screen out fake patients while ensuring that the new system does not inconvenience the public," Park Jun-hyung, head of the land ministry's Mobility and Automobile Bureau, said.