Environmental Dispute & Pollution Damage Compensation Calculator

Environmental Dispute & Pollution Damage Compensation Calculator helps estimate Korea-related civil dispute, damages, evidence, settlement, and legal-cost assumptions in English.

Legal scenario inputs

Enter Korea-related court, traffic, debt, family, civil, medical-dispute, criminal, or real-estate dispute assumptions. Results are simplified planning estimates.

Civil claim recognized amount

₩43,600

Offset or paid amount

₩0

Net planning amount

₩43,600

Monthly planning amount

₩10,900

₩174,400 unrecovered

Korea-based estimate. Under the Framework Act on Environmental Policy art. 44, the party that causes environmental pollution (construction/business noise, vibration, dust, odor) bears no-fault liability, and joint liability applies when the cause is uncertain among several parties. The Central Environmental Dispute Coordination & Damage Relief Commission sets per-person mental-distress compensation from the noise exceedance over the 65 dB(A) tolerance limit, the damage duration and the number of victims, raised by +50% in 2022 and a cumulative +162% by 2026. The full compensation matrix is confidential, so figures are reference estimates; property damage (livestock, crops, fishery, building cracks) is set by appraisal. Not legal advice.

Related calculators

What is the Environmental Dispute Compensation Calculator?

When a construction site, factory, or other business operation causes noise, vibration, low-frequency sound, dust, or odor that harms nearby residents, farmers, or aquaculture operators, the affected parties are entitled to compensation — even without proving fault.
This calculator estimates the adjudicated compensation amount that Korea’s Central Environmental Dispute Adjustment and Damage Relief Committee (the Committee) is likely to award, using the Committee’s published damage-assessment criteria: a per-person mental-distress base amount multiplied by the exceedance band, damage duration, affected headcount, and applicable surcharges, plus any appraised figure for property damage.

Two categories of harm are covered:
• Mental distress — discomfort, sleep disruption, and psychological suffering caused by noise, vibration, or low-frequency sound that exceeds the legal tolerance limit.
• Property damage — livestock deaths, reduced crop yields, fishery losses, building cracks from vibration, and dust contamination of crops or goods.

Korea-specific notice: This calculator is based on Korean law — specifically the Framework Act on Environmental Policy (art. 44) and the Environmental Dispute Adjustment & Damage Relief Act (art. 56) — and applies the Committee’s compensation criteria as updated through 2026.
The Committee’s full compensation matrix (per-person amounts for all dB exceedance bands and durations) is classified as confidential, so figures beyond the two published corner values are calibrated estimates only. Actual adjudication results depend on on-site measurements, expert appraisals, and the Committee’s discretion. This tool is for planning reference only and is not legal advice. Consult a Korean environmental attorney or submit a formal petition to the Committee for a binding determination.

Legal basis: strict no-fault liability

Framework Act on Environmental Policy, Article 44 — No-fault liability

Article 44(1) states that any person who causes environmental pollution or environmental damage shall be liable to compensate for the resulting harm.
Critically, the victim does not need to prove that the polluter was negligent or acted intentionally. Liability attaches solely because the pollution occurred and the harm resulted — this is known as strict (no-fault) liability.
Article 44(2) adds joint-and-several liability when two or more causers are each independently sufficient to explain the harm, or when it is impossible to determine which causer produced the damage.

Environmental Dispute Adjustment & Damage Relief Act — Adjudication under Article 56

The Act (formerly the Environmental Dispute Adjustment Act, renamed and comprehensively revised effective 2025-10-01) governs the Committee’s adjudication procedure. Article 56 defines two types of adjudication:

  • • Cause-adjudication: the Committee determines whether a causal link exists between the alleged pollution act and the claimant’s harm. This is typically the first hurdle — if causation cannot be shown, no compensation is awarded.
  • • Liability-adjudication: assuming causation is established (or conceded), the Committee determines the existence and scope of the polluter’s liability for damages, including the compensation amount.

Both types of adjudication are binding on the parties if accepted and are enforceable in the same manner as a court judgment once the adjudication order is served.

Environmental Dispute Adjustment & Damage Relief Act, Article 2 — Definition of environmental harm

Article 2(1) defines “environmental harm” broadly to include health, property, and mental harm arising from air pollution, water pollution, soil and marine pollution, noise and vibration, odor, ecological disruption, sunlight obstruction, wind obstruction, view obstruction, artificial light (light pollution), groundwater disturbance, chemical substance exposure, and pesticide-product exposure (excluding radioactive contamination). This broad definition means the Committee’s jurisdiction extends well beyond noise to dust, odor, and light-pollution cases, though compensation criteria are most developed for noise and vibration.

Tolerance limits — when does a claim become viable?

Mental distress compensation is awarded only when the measured pollution level exceeds the applicable tolerance limit. The Committee consistently applies the following thresholds for construction-site and factory-site disputes:

Harm typeTolerance limitNote
Construction noise (daytime)65 dB(A)Class-1 general residential zone
Vibration65 dB(V)Measured at the receptor
Blasting noise75 dB(A)Peak level
Low-frequency noise50–90 dB (urban) / 45–85 dB (rural)Frequency-band dependent; reference only

If the measured noise level is at or below 65 dB(A), the calculator will display a warning: mental distress compensation is unlikely to be awarded because the tolerance limit is not exceeded. Sunlight obstruction claims use a separate threshold (total sunlight 4 hours / consecutive sunlight 2 hours on the winter solstice) and are handled by the Sunlight & View Right calculator on this site.

Mental distress compensation — how the amount is calculated

The Committee uses a formula based on four factors: a base amount for the damage duration, an exceedance band multiplier, an annual cost-of-living uplift multiplier, and any applicable surcharges. The full per-person, per-band, per-duration matrix is confidential; only two corner values have been made public. This calculator uses those confirmed values plus case-law calibration for intermediate cells.

Step 1 — Base amount by damage duration (2021 baseline, 1–5 dB exceedance, noise)

Duration2021 base (KRW / person)Source
Up to 1 month145,000Confirmed corner
Up to 3 months253,000Interpolated estimate
Up to 6 months372,000Interpolated estimate
Up to 1 year520,000Interpolated estimate
Up to 2 years720,000Interpolated estimate
Up to 3 years925,000Confirmed corner
Over 3 years925,000Cap (same as 3 years)

Vibration uses the same base amounts as noise. Low-frequency noise uses a type factor of 0.37 (calibrated from the confirmed low-frequency corner of approximately 54,000 KRW for 1 month at 1–5 dB exceedance).

Step 2 — Exceedance band multiplier

The higher the measured level above the tolerance limit, the larger the multiplier applied to the base amount. The 1–5 dB band is the reference (multiplier = 1.00); higher bands are calibrated from published case decisions:

Exceedance above tolerance limitMultiplierBasis
1–5 dB1.00×Confirmed corner reference
5–10 dB1.40×Case-law calibration (74 dB / 9 dB excess)
10–15 dB1.90×Case-law calibration (76 dB / 11 dB excess)
15–20 dB2.50×Extrapolated estimate
Over 20 dB3.20×Extrapolated estimate

Step 3 — Annual uplift multiplier (2021 baseline to 2026)

In 2022 the Committee raised base amounts by 50% immediately, then scheduled further annual increases tied to the consumer-price index plus 10 percentage points, compounding to a total uplift of +162% by 2026 (the 2026 figure is 2.62 times the 2021 baseline). From 2027 onward, increases track only the CPI.

Case yearMultiplier vs. 2021Status
20221.50×Confirmed (+50%)
20231.72×Geometric interpolation
20241.98×Geometric interpolation
20252.28×Geometric interpolation
2026 (default)2.62×Confirmed (+162% cumulative)

Verified corner values (2022): 1 month, 1–5 dB → 145,000 × 1.50 = 217,500 ≈ 218,000 KRW (confirmed). 3 years, 1–5 dB → 925,000 × 1.50 = 1,387,500 ≈ 1,388,000 KRW (confirmed).

Step 4 — Surcharges (capped at +100% combined)

  • • Weekend and holiday construction: +20% — applies when the site operates continuously on weekends or public holidays.
  • • Noise management — partial effort: +15% — the operator took some mitigation steps but they were inadequate.
  • • Noise management — severe neglect: +30% — no meaningful mitigation was attempted.
  • • Sensitive groups affected: +20% — patients, students sitting national exams, or infants and toddlers are among the affected persons.
  • • Compound pollution — minor: +10% — the claimants also suffered some vibration, dust, or odor alongside the primary harm.
  • • Compound pollution — moderate: +30% — concurrent secondary pollution was substantial.
  • • Compound pollution — severe: +50% — multiple pollution types combined to create harm well beyond the primary type.

All applicable surcharges are summed, but the total surcharge is capped at +100% of the pre-surcharge amount (i.e., the surcharge multiplier cannot exceed 2.00).

Full formula

per-person = BASE[duration] × TYPE_FACTOR × BAND_MULT[band] × YEAR_MULT[year] × (1 + total surcharge rate)

total mental distress = per-person × number of affected persons

TYPE_FACTOR is 1.00 for noise and vibration, and 0.37 for low-frequency noise.

Property damage — appraised amounts and dust formula

Unlike mental distress, property damage has no standard per-person schedule — the Committee relies on independent expert appraisals after the cause-adjudication phase. You enter appraised figures directly in the calculator. Common categories are:

Livestock damage

Deaths, reduced egg-laying rates, or lower milk yields in chickens, cattle, and pigs caused by noise or vibration stress. The appraisal covers the market value of dead animals and estimated production losses over the exposure period.

Crop damage

Yield reduction or quality deterioration in field crops or greenhouse produce. Dust accumulation, reduced photosynthesis, and mechanical damage from vibration can all be claimed. An agricultural expert appraises the yield gap and market-price differential.

Fishery and aquaculture damage

Mortality or growth impairment in fish farms, shellfish beds, or marine net cages caused by turbidity, polluted runoff, or underwater vibration from blasting. Appraised at market replacement value.

Building crack repair cost

Structural and finishing cracks caused by blasting or heavy-machinery vibration. The appraisal covers repair costs when vibration velocity exceeds the critical threshold for the building type and construction year.

Dust damage — computed automatically

When you enable the dust option, the calculator computes dust damage as a percentage of the total mental distress amount:
• Up to 1 year: 10% of mental distress total
• Over 1 year up to 2 years: 15%
• Over 2 years: 20%

Delay interest and total compensation range

Delay interest — 15% per year

When an adjudication order is served and the liable party delays payment, delay interest accrues at 15% per year on the total compensation (mental distress + property damage), calculated from the day after the adjudication order is served.

delay interest = (mental distress total + property damage total) × 0.15 × (delay days ÷ 365)

Leave the delay-days field at 0 to exclude this component from the estimate.

Total estimate with confidence range (±30%)

Because the full compensation matrix is confidential and actual results depend on on-site evidence, the calculator presents a range:

point estimate = mental distress total + property damage total + delay interest

low estimate  = mental distress total × 0.70 + property damage + delay interest

high estimate = mental distress total × 1.30 + property damage + delay interest

The ±30% band reflects uncertainty from the confidential matrix and on-site measurement variables. In borderline cases the actual award can fall below the low estimate; in severe cases it can occasionally exceed the high estimate.

The adjudication process — from petition to payment

Stage 1: Obtain certified noise or vibration measurements

Before filing, obtain measurements of the pollution level from an accredited environmental measurement agency. Without certified data, the Committee cannot determine whether the tolerance limit is exceeded or which exceedance band applies. Measurements should be taken during the period of maximum impact, not after the source has ceased.

Stage 2: File an adjudication petition

Submit a written petition to the Central Environmental Dispute Adjustment and Damage Relief Committee (under the Ministry of Climate, Environment & Energy), specifying the harm type, duration, number of affected persons, and any property losses. A filing fee is required. The Committee accepts group petitions from multiple claimants against a single respondent.

Stage 3: Cause-adjudication investigation

The Committee investigates whether a causal link exists between the respondent’s activities and the claimed harm, including site visits, expert opinion, and examination of construction records. This stage typically takes several months.

Stage 4: Liability-adjudication and compensation order

If causation is found, the Committee proceeds to the liability phase and issues an adjudication order specifying the compensation amount per person and in total. The respondent must pay within the period set in the order, or delay interest at 15%/year begins to accrue.

Stage 5: Civil litigation if adjudication fails

If the respondent refuses to accept the adjudication or the petition is dismissed, the claimant may file a civil lawsuit for damages under Article 44 of the Framework Act on Environmental Policy. Strict no-fault liability applies in court just as before the Committee.

How to use this calculator

Step 1: Choose the harm type and enter the measured level

Select noise, vibration, or low-frequency noise. Enter the dB level from your certified measurement report. The calculator checks it against the tolerance limit and flags a warning if the tolerance is not exceeded.

Step 2: Select the exceedance band and damage duration

Choose how many dB the measurement exceeds the tolerance limit — for example, 74 dB(A) minus the 65 dB(A) limit equals 9 dB excess, which falls in the 5–10 dB band. Then select the total exposure duration from the dropdown.

Step 3: Enter the number of affected persons and the case year

Enter the total number of residents or workers affected. Select the year the damage occurred (defaults to 2026) to apply the correct annual uplift multiplier.

Step 4: Apply surcharges

Check any applicable surcharges — weekend and holiday construction, noise management quality, sensitive-group presence, and compound pollution level. Surcharges stack up to a maximum of +100%.

Step 5: Enter property damage amounts (if any)

If you have appraisal reports for livestock, crops, fishery, or building cracks, enter those figures. Enable the dust option and select the exposure duration if dust contamination is also being claimed.

Step 6: Read the result

The result panel shows the per-person amount, total mental distress, itemized property damage (including computed dust), delay interest if any, and the final point estimate with a ±30% confidence range. Use this to gauge whether a formal petition is worthwhile.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Do I need professional noise measurements before filing a petition?

A. For a formal Committee petition, certified measurements from an accredited agency are effectively required — they are the primary evidence for both the exceedance level and the duration of harm. Smartphone decibel-meter readings give a rough initial indication but are not accepted as official evidence and cannot establish which exceedance band applies.

Q. Why is the full compensation matrix classified as confidential?

A. The Committee treats its detailed per-band, per-duration tables as internal deliberation material in order to preserve flexibility in individual cases. Only the 2022 corner values (1-month and 3-year amounts at the 1–5 dB band) have been confirmed in publicly available decisions and guidance. All intermediate amounts in this calculator are calibrated estimates based on those confirmed corners and published case decisions; they are not official Committee figures.

Q. Is the adjudication process faster than filing a civil lawsuit?

A. Generally yes. A complete adjudication typically takes 9–18 months depending on complexity, while a civil environmental lawsuit can take 2–4 years through first instance and any appeal. The adjudication filing fee is also lower than court costs for large claims. If the respondent refuses to accept the award, however, enforcement still requires a court order.

Q. Can multiple residents file a joint petition?

A. Yes. The Committee accepts group petitions from multiple claimants against a single respondent — for example, all residents of a neighborhood affected by the same construction site. A joint petition is procedurally efficient, and the Committee applies the same per-person formula to each affected individual listed in the petition.

Q. What if the construction company is a public-sector agency?

A. Public-sector causers — such as local governments or state-owned enterprises running road or railway construction — are subject to the same no-fault liability under Article 44 of the Framework Act on Environmental Policy. You may file a petition with the Committee or file suit under the State Compensation Act; the State Compensation calculator on this site covers the litigation path for government-caused harm.

Q. Are odor and artificial-light (light pollution) claims covered?

A. The Environmental Dispute Adjustment & Damage Relief Act’s definition of “environmental harm” explicitly includes odor and artificial-light pollution in addition to noise and vibration. However, the Committee’s published compensation criteria are most fully developed for noise and vibration cases; odor and light-pollution awards tend to be more discretionary. This calculator focuses on noise, vibration, and low-frequency noise where confirmed base values exist.

Tips and important cautions

  • • Keep a contemporaneous log. Record dates, times, durations, and your descriptions of the harm as it occurs. These notes support the duration claim and your credibility before the Committee.
  • • Measure at the time of maximum impact. Noise measurements taken during the noisiest phase of construction are strongest. Post-completion retroactive measurements are less persuasive because the source has changed or ceased.
  • • Check the limitation period. Environmental damage claims in Korean courts are generally subject to a 3-year limitation period from the date the claimant learned of the harm (Civil Act art. 766). The Committee’s petition period may differ; confirm the applicable deadline with legal counsel before filing.
  • • Sensitive-group surcharge requires documentation. If you claim the +20% sensitive-group surcharge, be prepared to produce medical records, exam-registration documents, or birth certificates for infants in the affected household.
  • • Dust claims benefit from photographic evidence. Time-stamped photographs of dust accumulation on crops, vehicles, solar panels, or goods significantly strengthen a dust-damage component alongside the computed percentage.
  • • The ±30% range is a guideline, not a guarantee. Cases with exceedance just above the tolerance limit, a short duration, and no surcharges may settle below the low estimate. Cases with very high exceedance, long duration, multiple surcharges, and documented sensitive groups can occasionally exceed the high estimate.

Estimate your environmental dispute compensation now

Enter your measured pollution level, affected headcount, and damage duration to instantly see a reference estimate of the likely compensation range under Korea’s 2026 criteria.

Results are reference estimates only. The Committee’s full compensation matrix is confidential; figures shown are based on confirmed corner values (218,000 KRW / 1 month and 1,388,000 KRW / 3 years at 2022) plus case-law calibration. This is not legal advice — consult a Korean environmental attorney or submit a formal petition to the Central Environmental Dispute Adjustment and Damage Relief Committee for a binding determination.