정신질병 적용관련 산재보험 정책의 확장과 개선을 위한 소고: 판례분석을 중심으로

Expansion and Improvement of Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Policies for an Application of Mental Illness : Analysis of Precedents

Background/Objectives: With rapid changes in the labor market and industrial structure, new types of occupational diseases such as mental illnesses are emerging. However, the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act of South Korea and the related protection system have long focused only on physical accidents and deaths, owing to which mental illness is not reflected. In this social context, this study examined the difficulties experienced by injured workers with mental illnesses in the process of claiming compensation. Methods: Preceding studies suggested the need for legislative improvement of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act at the legal level, but failed to examine the overall industrial accident process. This study comprehensively identified the current status of industrial accidents related to mental illness through literature research, and the problems of industrial accident insurance policies by analyzing precedents. Results: This study found that workers with mental illnesses face numerous challenges owing to difficulty in securing evidence and prolonged special examination periods for recognition of industrial accidents. In addition, by analyzing precedents, further problems were observed, such as the responsibility placed on workers or bereaved families to prove causal relationships, as well as differences in opinions regarding factual relationships and evidence judgements. Conclusion/Implications: Various policy changes are needed, such as the establishment of an industrial accident management system for work-related mental illness, dualization of occupational accident and disease departments for quick decision-making on work-related mental illness as an industrial accident, development of indicators to evaluate the overburdening of factors, and easing the burdensome responsibility placed on workers for proving the work-relatedness of their mental illness.