Oct. 23, 2026, Is the Final Opportunity to Seek Reconsideration of COVID-19 Vaccine Injury Compensation

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the 21st officially urged eligible individuals to apply by the deadline, stating that the deadline for filing a “special objection” under the Special Act on Compensation for COVID-19 Vaccination Injuries is Oct. 23, 2026. This effectively provides a final opportunity for relief to people who suffered injuries after the government-led temporary vaccination program conducted from February 2021 through June 2024 but did not receive compensation under the existing Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act framework.

The special law was enacted by the National Assembly on April 22, 2025, and took effect Oct. 23 of that year. It was enacted amid social criticism of the initial compensation system. The existing Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act required proof of “strict medical causality” between vaccination and adverse reactions. Although the total number of compensation applications reached approximately 100,000, according to Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency statistics, the approval rate remained at about 25% to 26%. In particular, the rate at which causality was recognized in deaths and severe cases was only around 1% during the early stages of the system, prompting strong opposition from victims’ groups and bereaved families.

■ Easing the burden of proof is central

The core of the special law is its “presumed causality” provision. If there is temporal plausibility between vaccination and an adverse reaction and no clear alternative cause, a causal relationship is legally presumed. More than 15 conditions, including tinnitus, facial nerve palsy and abnormal uterine bleeding, were newly included among those eligible for compensation and support, and the related budget was substantially increased. A decisive difference from the previous system is that people whose compensation claims were previously denied can also have their cases reconsidered under the special law’s criteria by filing an objection.

The deadline for filing an objection varies depending on when the decision was made. For decisions issued before the special law took effect, an application may be filed once by Oct. 23, 2026, within 1 year of the law’s effective date. For decisions issued after the special law took effect, an application must be filed within 90 days of the date the applicant was notified of the review result. However, people who challenged a decision made under the existing Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act and received a final court judgment are excluded from eligibility to file an objection.

■ An unusual case even in global comparisons

To apply, the vaccinated person must visit the public health center with jurisdiction over their registered address and submit an objection form and the required documents. Additional materials may also be submitted. After the application is received, the Reconsideration Committee reviews and resolves the case, after which the commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency makes the final decision on compensation and notifies the applicant.

South Korea’s special law has also drawn attention in an international context. By comparison, approval rates for COVID-19 vaccine injury compensation under the United States’ CICP (Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program) and the United Kingdom’s VDPS (Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme) have remained in the 2% to 3% range, making South Korea’s compensation coverage relatively broad. The decision to provide a temporary opportunity to retroactively reconsider cases denied under existing laws is viewed as an active model of state responsibility even among Asian countries such as Japan and Taiwan, where compensation criteria are more flexible.

Victims’ groups, however, continue to express concern. The COVID-19 Vaccine Victims and Families Council has called for greater transparency and further easing of the review criteria, saying, “It remains extremely difficult for ordinary people to prove causality that even medical experts have difficulty clearly establishing, or to pass an ambiguous review standard.” Industry experts have also raised the administrative capacity needed to process quickly and fairly the volume of reapplications that could surge after the deadline as a challenge for the Reconsideration Committee.

Lim Seung-kwan, commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, urged people who received decisions before the special law took effect to check in advance whether they are eligible to apply and what documents are required, and to submit their applications by Oct. 23, 2026. Further information is available on the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency website (www.kdca.go.kr) or through the public health center with jurisdiction over the applicant’s address.