Korea Special Occupational Health Exam Budget Calculator | 2026

Work-group headcount, factors, booking months, exam costs, and paid-time cost
Work group	Headcount	Factors	Months	Shared	Add-ons	Paid time
Painting process	24	Toluene, Noise	Mar	KRW 1,080,000	KRW 1,200,000	KRW 1,872,000
Welding process	18	Noise, Welding fume	Mar	KRW 810,000	KRW 828,000	KRW 1,404,000
Night packaging	12	Night work	Sep	KRW 540,000	KRW 264,000	KRW 936,000

Target groups, headcount, months, and add-on cost by hazard factor
Factor or quote item	Exam type	Target groups	Headcount	Months	Add-on rate	Add-on total
Toluene	Periodic special exam	Painting process	24	Mar	KRW 32,000	KRW 768,000
Noise	Periodic special exam	Painting process, Welding process	42	Mar	KRW 18,000	KRW 756,000
Welding fume	Periodic special exam	Welding process	18	Mar	KRW 28,000	KRW 504,000
Night work	Periodic special exam	Night packaging	12	Sep	KRW 22,000	KRW 264,000

Why a Korean special occupational health exam needs a workforce-and-item budget

A special occupational health exam budget cannot usually be planned by multiplying total company headcount by one rate. A painting process may have an organic-solvent factor, a welding process may have welding fume and noise, and a rotating-shift process may have a night-work factor. The confirmed factors, exam timing, and institution quote can therefore differ across otherwise nearby groups of workers.

When one worker receives examinations for several factors in the same month, a written quote may treat interview, clinical assessment, or another shared component as one visit while retaining separate factor-specific items. This calculator groups those costs by non-overlapping work group and booking month. It then keeps shared exam cost, factor add-ons, site or travel fees, administration, secondary-exam reserve, confirmed support, and paid work time visible as separate amounts.

Use this page only after professional scope confirmation

This is a South Korea-based 2026 quote and scheduling planner. It does not decide whether a substance or work pattern falls within the legal annex, whether an individual worker is covered, which medical test is required, or whether a person has a disease. Use work-environment measurements, safety data sheets, process evidence, and advice from a qualified occupational-health professional or designated special-exam institution first.

Enter aggregate, non-overlapping work-group headcount only
Do not enter names, employee numbers, medical history, or exam results
Use actual institution quote components instead of an assumed national average price
Use booking months confirmed from assignment dates, prior exams, measurements, and medical advice

Current Korean legal anchors checked on August 18, 2026

The National Law Information Center OPEN API returned the current Occupational Safety and Health Act as law ID 001766 and MST 283449. Article 130 itself is effective June 1, 2026 in that current text. It requires the employer to conduct special health examinations for covered workers, pre-placement examinations before covered assignments, and ad hoc examinations when the statutory conditions are met. Paragraph 4 requires the examinations under paragraphs 1 through 3 to be conducted by an institution designated under Article 135(1).

Article 132 restricts disclosure and use of individual results and requires appropriate follow-up where necessary. Article 175(4)(7) places failure to conduct the examinations required by Article 130(1) through (3) within a maximum administrative-fine category of KRW 10 million. This calculator does not determine a violation, fine amount, enforcement result, or the value of avoiding noncompliance.

Scope, timing, and medical items

The current Enforcement Rule is law ID 007364 and MST 288431, effective August 1, 2026. Article 201 points to Annex 22 for covered hazard factors, Article 202 points to Annex 23 for initial timing and cycles, and Article 206 points to Annex 24 for first-stage and second-stage medical items.

Cost and support boundary

Enforcement Rule Article 208 says the cost of general, special, pre-placement, ad hoc, and temporary health examinations follows the standards under the National Health Insurance Act. This planner still uses the designated institution’s itemized quote because the total depends on confirmed factors, people, tests, and delivery conditions.

The next cycle can be cut in half

Enforcement Rule Article 202(2) can shorten the next examination cycle by half for relevant factors after an exposure-limit exceedance, a work-process finding involving an occupational-disease case, or a physician opinion requiring a shorter cycle. The calculator cannot infer those facts and never adds a month automatically. Update the selected months after reviewing measurement and health-exam evidence with the responsible professional.

Annex 22 categories and the Annex 23 timing table

The current Annex 22 text contains 109 organic compounds, 20 metals, 8 acids or alkalis, 14 gaseous substances, 12 permit-required substances, 1 metalworking-fluid category, 7 dust categories, 8 physical factors, and 2 night-work categories. Those headline counts total 181 factors. Mixture thresholds, exact substance identity, CAS information, and work conditions still need to be checked in the official text, so selecting a broad category in the calculator is not an eligibility decision.

Current Korean Enforcement Rule Annex 23 initial timing and ordinary cycles for special occupational health examinations
Group	Hazard factors	First exam after assignment	Ordinary cycle
1	N,N-dimethylacetamide and dimethylformamide	Within 1 month	6 months
2	Benzene	Within 2 months	6 months
3	1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane, carbon tetrachloride, acrylonitrile, and vinyl chloride	Within 3 months	6 months
4	Asbestos and cotton dust	Within 12 months	12 months
5	Mineral dust, wood dust, noise, and impulse noise	Within 12 months	24 months
6	Other Annex 22 factors outside groups 1 through 5	Within 6 months	12 months

A 24-month cycle must not be converted mechanically into one half of an exam every year for a current-year cash budget. Confirm whether the exam is actually due in the selected budget year. Pre-placement exemptions under Article 203, ad hoc or temporary examinations, assignment dates, prior examinations, physician opinions, and the half-cycle rule can all change the practical schedule.

How to prepare reliable inputs

Confirm the hazard-factor evidence.Review work-environment measurement results, process flow, safety data sheets, material changes, night-work records, and professional advice. Do not infer legal scope from a product name alone.
Create non-overlapping aggregate work groups.Put workers with the same confirmed factor combination and booking pattern into one group. Reconcile the aggregate against a protected internal roster so one person is not counted in two groups.
Confirm actual months in the budget year.Use assignment dates, prior exam dates, Annex 23, any shortened-cycle rule, and institution capacity. Select the same month for factors that can be handled in one confirmed visit.
Ask for a separated written quote.Request a shared per-person visit component, a factor-specific per-person add-on, site or travel charges, second-stage test conditions, rebooking, cancellation, and roster-change terms. Do not invent a split when the institution provides only one lump-sum quote.
Separate paid time and confirmed support.Estimate travel, reception, waiting, examination, and return time with a company-specific loaded hourly cost. Deduct support only after a decision letter or equivalent written confirmation establishes an amount.

Calculation method and the same-month shared-cost rule

Same group and same month

If 24 painting workers receive both toluene and noise examinations in March, the model records 24 unique worker visits for the shared component. It still records 24 toluene factor exams and 24 noise factor exams for the separate add-ons.

Same group and different months

If toluene is booked in March and noise in September, the group has two unique visit months. Shared exam cost and paid-time cost are therefore counted twice because the planned visits are separate.

Shared exam cost = shared fee × each group headcount × count of unique months for that group
Factor add-on cost = sum of factor headcount × factor month count × add-on fee
Duplicate-cost reference = naive shared cost per factor − deduplicated shared cost
Net cash budget = medical subtotal + site + admin + reserve − applied confirmed support
Total economic budget = net cash budget + paid-time cost

The duplicate-cost reference is not a statutory discount or a medical-item omission decision. Enforcement Rule Article 206 governs first-stage, second-stage, and same-item boundaries, while Article 7 of the Worker Health Examination Implementation Standard permits a general exam to be included when both general and special exams are required in the same year. Confirm the actual bundle and billing treatment in writing with the designated institution.

Worked example for 54 workers

The default scenario is fictional and is not a legal rate, an official fee schedule calculation, or a market average. It uses 24 painting workers booked for toluene and noise in March, 18 welding workers booked for noise and welding fume in March, and 12 night-packaging workers booked for night-work examination in September. Shared exam cost is KRW 45,000 per person and visit, site cost is KRW 500,000 per active booking month, annual administration is KRW 300,000, and the secondary-exam reserve is 10% of the medical subtotal.

Cost composition for the fictional 54-worker Korean special occupational health exam example
Cost item	Basis	Amount
Shared exam cost	54 unique worker visits × KRW 45,000	KRW 2,430,000
Factor-specific add-ons	96 factor exams across four bundles	KRW 2,292,000
Site or travel cost	March and September × KRW 500,000	KRW 1,000,000
Annual administration	Confirmed annual fixed cost	KRW 300,000
Secondary or repeat reserve	KRW 4,722,000 medical subtotal × 10%	KRW 472,200
Company net cash budget	No confirmed support	KRW 6,494,200
Paid-time cost	54 visits × 3 hours × KRW 26,000	KRW 4,212,000
Total economic budget	Net cash plus paid time	KRW 10,706,200

A naive shared-fee calculation by factor would use 96 factor exams × KRW 45,000, or KRW 4,320,000. The unique same-month worker-visit calculation produces KRW 2,430,000, leaving a KRW 1,890,000 duplication reference. That amount is a question for the quote discussion, not a guaranteed discount.

How to interpret each result

Covered headcount

The sum of non-overlapping active groups with at least one selected booking month. Compare it with active headcount to find a possible omission.

Unique worker visits

Each group headcount multiplied by the number of unique months across that group. This drives shared exam and paid-time cost.

Factor exam count

Each factor target headcount multiplied by that factor month count. One worker can appear several times when several factors apply.

Company net cash budget

Shared and factor-specific medical cost, site cost, administration, and reserve, less only support confirmed in writing.

Total economic budget

Company net cash budget plus paid examination time valued with the entered loaded hourly cost. It does not determine statutory wages, premium pay, or production loss.

Practical planning scenarios

Annual manufacturing budget

Build separate painting, cleaning, welding, machining, and shift groups where factor combinations differ. Enter two institutions with the same scope in separate copies of the calculator so differences in shared items, add-ons, and booking conditions stay visible.

Workers entering a covered assignment

Separate new assignees from the recurring periodic group and enter the confirmed pre-placement month and quote. Article 203 exceptions based on a recent examination for the same factor require individual records and institution confirmation and are not decided here.

Ad hoc or temporary examination reserve

Ad hoc examinations depend on symptoms, medical opinions, and the statutory recommendation or request conditions. Temporary examinations have separate order and trigger rules. Add a bundle only after scope and month are confirmed; use the reserve rate for uncertainty that has not become a scheduled case.

Shift and production scheduling

A high paid-time cost can justify splitting attendance across shifts, but splitting one combined month into several months can increase site fees and shared visits. Compare operational feasibility with the resulting cash and time cost rather than minimizing one line in isolation.

Checks that prevent under- or over-budgeting

Align the definition of the shared component and every factor add-on with the institution quote
Confirm whether the quote covers only first-stage items and how second-stage, biological monitoring, dental, imaging, or additional physician-selected items are billed
Check minimum headcount, travel, remote-location, return-visit, cancellation, roster-change, and results-delivery charges
Ask about combined general and special examinations without assuming that any statutory item can be omitted
Separate a 24-month current-year cash event from a longer-term annual reserve
Use the approved amount and payment timing for support rather than a program maximum
Include travel, check-in, waiting, examination, and return time in paid hours and assess shift relief separately
Budget follow-up actions, work reassignment, reduced hours, measurement, and facility improvement outside this examination-cost model

Protect individual health information

Occupational Safety and Health Act Article 132 prohibits disclosure of an individual result without consent and restricts use outside worker health protection and maintenance. Keep names, findings, management classifications, and physician opinions inside the institution and company security process. This calculator needs only aggregate group counts.

Frequently asked questions

Does this calculator identify covered workers?

No. Annex 22 scope, exposure work, and individual coverage require measurements, process evidence, and professional review. The calculator converts only a confirmed aggregate scope into a budget.

Does selecting an Annex 23 reference create booking months?

No. Assignment date, prior examination date, the due year for a 24-month cycle, and any shortened cycle are unknown. Select the actual months yourself.

Is the duplicate-cost reference a guaranteed discount?

No. It is the planning difference produced by grouping the same work group in the same month. Confirm how the institution bundles items and invoices them.

Can the general and special examinations be performed together?

Article 7 of the Worker Health Examination Implementation Standard permits the general examination to be included with the special examination in a year when both are required. Confirm actual items, timing, and institutional scope.

How should I enter second-stage exam cost?

Second-stage scope depends on first-stage results and physician judgment. Use a reserve before confirmation and replace it with the actual additional quote after notification.

Does a workplace with fewer than 50 workers receive support automatically?

No. The current standard permits support for certain categories, but application, screening, and decision procedures remain separate. Deduct only an amount confirmed in writing.

What happens when work groups overlap?

The calculator cannot detect an overlap without personal identifiers. Reconcile the protected internal roster so one worker belongs to only one aggregate group.

Can the result serve as statutory completion evidence?

No. It is a quote and booking worksheet. Use the designated institution records, result forms, individual forms, and official company documentation for compliance evidence.

Official sources and update boundary

The following primary records were checked through the National Law Information Center OPEN API on August 18, 2026. Recheck them before booking because the Act, Rule, notice, annex content, and support procedures can change.

Occupational Safety and Health Act, current MST 283449 — Articles 130, 132, and 175
Occupational Safety and Health Act Enforcement Rule, current MST 288431 — Articles 201 through 210 and Annexes 22, 23, and 24
Worker Health Examination Implementation Standard, sequence 2100000271410 — effective January 1, 2026; Articles 4, 5, 7, 9, and 21

Replace the example with confirmed roster totals and quote items

Once the fictional defaults are replaced with measurement-backed factors, non-overlapping headcount, actual booking months, and a designated institution quote, the result gives one view of current-year cash and paid-time exposure. Take the work-group and factor tables back to the institution to confirm scope, timing, medical items, and same-month billing before the booking is finalized.

Special Occupational Health Exam Workforce & Budget Calculator

1. Budget basis

2. Non-overlapping work groups

Work group 1

Work group 2

Work group 3

Work group 4

Work group 5

3. Hazard and exam bundles

Exam bundle 1

Exam bundle 2

Exam bundle 3

Exam bundle 4

Exam bundle 5

Exam bundle 6

4. Support confirmation

Company net cash budget KRW 6,494,200

No input-gap warning

Work-group quote and paid-time table

Factor-level quote request table

Next actions before booking

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