An accessible-vehicle conversion decision involves more than the installer's total quote. The amount paid to a vendor, the device price recognized by the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities, or KEAD, the recognized custom-modification amount, and unsupported installation or inspection costs may all differ. A person's remaining two-year support ceiling can change the expected out-of-pocket amount again.
This calculator is a planning aid for a disabled worker, a disabled public servant, an employer that employs or plans to employ a disabled person, or an eligible disabled employer in South Korea. It does not determine eligibility, approve a product, assess medical or driving fitness, or issue a support decision. Its useful job is to turn an itemized quote and KEAD-confirmed planning amounts into an initial net cost and a one-to-ten-year lifecycle budget.
Separate the numbers
Keep the vendor quote, recognized device price, recognized customization, and unsupported costs distinct.
Apply the ceiling
Subtract confirmed prior support from the KRW 15 million or KRW 20 million personal ceiling.
Budget beyond installation
Add maintenance, insurance changes, batteries, consumables, relocation, and restoration.
The legal and administrative sources checked on August 22, 2026 set a general personal support ceiling of KRW 15,000,000. A KRW 20,000,000 ceiling may apply to a person with a severe disability or where an assessment recognizes an additional support need. The ceiling covers combined purchase, rental, and customized-device support during the relevant two-year employment-maintenance period; it is not a fresh ceiling reserved only for the vehicle conversion entered here.
2026 KEAD recognized device price bands and planning support formula| Case | Recognized amount | Planning calculation |
|---|
| Standard lower band | Up to KRW 1,300,000 | 90% of the recognized device price |
| Standard upper band | Above KRW 1,300,000 | KRW 1,170,000 plus 95% of the excess |
| Basic-livelihood or near-poor status | Within the recognized price | Full recognized device price may be supported |
| Recognized custom modification | No more than the actual custom quote | Add the recognized custom amount to device support |
Example at KRW 2,000,000
For a standard applicant, the device component is KRW 1,300,000 times 90%, or KRW 1,170,000, plus KRW 700,000 times 95%, or KRW 665,000. The planning support for the device is therefore KRW 1,835,000. If KEAD also recognizes KRW 1,000,000 as an additional custom-modification amount, the item's pre-ceiling planning support becomes KRW 2,835,000.
A vendor's actual quote describes the possible cash payment. A KEAD-recognized price is the basis used for the support calculation. They may match, but an assessment can change the product, quantity, recognized price, or customization scope. Budget availability can also affect the decision. For that reason, this page does not embed a market average or an old product-catalog price as if it were a current approval value.
Off-the-shelf device component
Enter the actual product quote separately from the device price that KEAD has indicated may be recognized. If the recognized value exceeds the actual device quote, the calculation conservatively reduces it to the actual quote. Hand controls, swivel or transfer seats, vehicle lifts, ramps, wheelchair restraints, and loading devices can be listed separately.
Custom-modification component
Enter only the additional modification amount that KEAD recognizes as customized support. Ordinary installation, vehicle inspection, insurance administration, and other unsupported costs belong in their own fields. The calculator also limits the recognized custom amount to the actual custom quote.
Do not treat the estimate as permission to order
KEAD may review documents, employment status, vehicle ownership, product suitability, quantities, and customization needs before making a decision. Buying or installing a device before the required decision can jeopardize support. Confirm the application sequence, vendor cancellation terms, guarantee-insurance requirements, and the responsible branch before signing or paying.
- Select the applicant type and the planning flags for the higher ceiling and low-income treatment. These choices do not certify eligibility.
- Enter the combined KEAD support already used in the relevant two-year period. Use a branch-confirmed figure when possible.
- Add up to six devices. Record the actual device quote, recognized device amount, actual and recognized custom-modification amounts, and unsupported cost separately.
- Add structural-change and inspection cost, initial insurance or administration, yearly maintenance, insurance increase, batteries or consumables, and future relocation or restoration.
- Review pre-ceiling item support, support after the remaining personal ceiling, initial net cost, lifecycle follow-up cost, and the monthly planning reserve.
Core formulas
- Remaining ceiling equals the personal ceiling minus confirmed prior support, never below zero.
- Support after ceiling equals the smaller of total pre-ceiling support and the remaining ceiling.
- Initial net cost equals actual item and ancillary cost minus support after ceiling, never below zero.
- Lifecycle net cost equals initial net cost plus annual recurring cost times the selected years plus future relocation or restoration.
Assume a hand-control item has an actual device quote of KRW 2,000,000, an equal recognized device price, an actual and recognized custom modification of KRW 1,000,000, and KRW 100,000 of unsupported cost. Its actual total is KRW 3,100,000 and its pre-ceiling support is KRW 2,835,000. Add a swivel-seat item with an actual and recognized device price of KRW 4,000,000; its pre-ceiling support is KRW 3,735,000. Combined planning support is KRW 6,570,000.
The items total KRW 7,100,000. Adding KRW 300,000 for structural change and inspection and KRW 100,000 for initial insurance or administration produces a KRW 7,500,000 initial gross cost. With no prior support and enough remaining ceiling, the initial net cost is KRW 930,000. Annual maintenance of KRW 300,000, insurance increase of KRW 120,000, and batteries or consumables of KRW 180,000 total KRW 600,000 per year. Five years plus KRW 500,000 for relocation or restoration produces KRW 3,500,000 of follow-up cost and a KRW 4,430,000 five-year net cost.
This is a fictional arithmetic example, not a market-price benchmark or an approval precedent. Replace every amount with the itemized vendor quote, branch guidance, and maintenance assumptions for the actual vehicle and user.
Applicant and employment evidence
- Evidence of disability status
- Worker, public-servant, employer, planned-employment, or disabled-employer evidence
- Basic-livelihood or near-poor evidence when applicable
- Confirmed support history and remaining ceiling for the relevant two-year period
Vehicle and device evidence
- Vehicle registration showing the required sole or joint ownership relationship
- Driver's-license evidence when the disabled worker will drive
- An itemized quote with model, quantity, device price, customization, and extras
- Questions about structural inspection, insurer disclosure, guarantee insurance, and timing
The exact document list depends on the applicant route and device. Vehicle-registration and license requirements can vary with who owns and drives the vehicle. Use the current KEAD form set and branch instructions rather than relying on this checklist alone.
Vehicle approval, road safety, and insurance remain separate
A possible assistive-device support decision does not guarantee approval of a vehicle structural change, inspection acceptance, medical or driving fitness, manufacturer-warranty treatment, or insurance underwriting. Before installation, confirm load and seating effects, restraint and crash-safety requirements, inspection documents, manufacturer implications, and insurer disclosure.
Maintenance can outlast the installation invoice
Powered lifts and loading devices may require inspection, service, batteries, consumables, and alternative transport during downtime. Ask whether a device can move to a replacement vehicle, what relocation costs, whether the former vehicle needs restoration, and whether support can be duplicated. The lifecycle fields make these cash flows visible instead of hiding them inside the first-year figure.
The two-year employment condition matters
If the employment relationship ends within the required period, residual-value repayment may arise depending on the facts and rule. This calculator does not predict termination, exceptions, or residual value. A user with uncertain employment duration should ask KEAD how the maintenance period and repayment rule would apply before accepting support.
Is the calculated support amount guaranteed?
No. It is a planning estimate based on the recognized amounts you enter, the published price-band formula, and the remaining personal ceiling. KEAD's actual review, product and quantity decision, recognized price, budget, documents, and final notice control.
Does a severe disability guarantee KRW 20,000,000?
No. KRW 20,000,000 is a possible personal ceiling for a person with a severe disability or a recognized additional support need. It is not an automatic payment. Recognized items, prices, prior support, and the assessment still apply.
Does low-income treatment make every conversion cost free?
No. Full support may apply to the recognized device price, but the personal ceiling and actual approval remain. Unsupported installation, inspection, insurance, maintenance, and other costs may still be paid by the user.
Why does the calculator not recommend a product price?
Product availability, model fit, recognized prices, and approved custom work can change. Using an itemized current quote and a KEAD-confirmed planning amount is safer than presenting an old catalog or market average as a current entitlement. The page does not recommend a vendor or device.
Are disability vehicle tax benefits included?
No. Korean vehicle excise, acquisition, annual vehicle-tax, bond, and toll benefits use different eligibility rules. This calculator only addresses employment-related assistive-device support and the conversion's net lifecycle cost.
The assumptions were checked on August 22, 2026 against KEAD's 2026 assistive-device support guidance, Articles 18, 21, and 21-2 of Korea's employment-promotion and vocational-rehabilitation statute for persons with disabilities, and Articles 20 through 23 of the current financing and support notice for employers and disabled persons. KEAD also publishes Assistive Technology Support Work Processing Rule No. 847, revised September 15, 2025. Rules, forms, products, prices, budgets, and branch procedure can change, so sources current on the application date prevail.
Enter the actual device and customization quotes, the recognized planning amounts, prior support, and lifecycle costs. Then take the resulting checklist, vehicle registration, applicant evidence, and itemized quotes to the responsible KEAD branch before ordering or installing anything.