Health Tests
During your time employed with the GMOE, you might be required to do two different kinds of health tests: (1) Office Worker Health Check if you wish to renew your contract and (2) NHIS Biennial Health Check which is required by our health insurance provider. As of December 2022, both kinds of tests will be accepted for contract renewals. If you have already received your NHIS Biennial Health Check, you can print out the employment version of your results from the NHIS website. See related files below.
You can take up to a full day of official leave. This leave request should be entered into NEIS as 공가. Please do your best not to disrupt the normal operation of your classes. Depending on the type of test, you may use one of the following NEIS request reasons:
NHIS Biennial Health Check: 국민건강보험공단 건강검진
Contract Renewal Health Check: 채용 및 재계약을 위한 신체검사
NHIS Biennial Health Check
This is a mandatory test for all residents, including Korean nationals, and is free of charge every two years. The main purpose of the test is to detect serious illnesses early, thus reducing the cost of health care across the system. There is a specific version of the health check results that you can use for employment purposes. A guide for this report can be found in the related files below. The results of this test are valid for 12 months.
When you go to the hospital you should tell them you are there for "국민건강보험공단 건강검진" or "일반 건강검진" and they should know what to do. Either of these options should give you the same comprehensive health check. The following note explains that you need to do the NHIS Health Check and if they have further questions, they should contact us:
광주광역시교육청 소속 원어민영어보조교사입니다. 교육청은 건보공단으로부터 제가 종합건강검진 대상자라는 통보를 받았습니다. 건강보험공단에서 실시하는 건강보험 직장가입자 건강검진을 하려고 합니다. 문의사항이 있으면 062-380-4466로 문의 부탁드립니다.
Each year, the NHIS contacts us with a list of GETs who are required to have the health check. If your name is on the list, the GET Program Manager will contact you with more details. If you do not do this test, you and/or the GMOE could be fined either directly or through a Year-end Tax Settlement. The selection criteria may vary but are generally based on employment start date, birth year, age, gender, and new government initiatives. Sometimes, the criteria straddle each other, resulting in back-to-back years of required checks. For instance, a new GET born in 1993 might have the following schedule:
2019 - first contract - no NHIS health check
2020 - second year of employment - NHIS health check required
2021 - people with birth years ending in an odd number - NHIS health check required
2022 - no NHIS health check
What to bring to the hospital:
Residence Card
Korean note (if needed)
Your name in hangeul*
Some points to remember:
The test must be done at a certified hospital (see below).
You need to fast for 8 hours before taking the test (only drinking water is okay)
The test is free of charge.
The hospital will send the test results to the NHIS and to you.
You can retrieve these results online
*The NHIS database generally only allows for names with Korean characters, so you would need to know exactly how your name appears in Korean. This can be found by logging into the Korean NHIS website using a digital certificate. If you have trouble logging into the NHIS website, please contact the GET Program Manager.
Health Check for Contract Signing and Renewal
When we renew our employment contracts, our employer requires general health check results indicating that we are fit for work. This is referred to as the [Public Officer] Recruitment Health Check ([공무원]채용신체검사) or Office Worker Health Check (직장인건강검진). Recently, the government has been making efforts to reduce the financial burdens of contract workers. In that vein, we are now able to use results from the free biennial health checks. See files below for a guide on how to retrieve the NHIS Substitute Employment Health Check Report (채용건강검진대체통보서).
Health check results are valid for up to 12 months from the date of examination. This means that technically, we are able to renew our contracts using just the free NHIS checks, since we will either already have valid results from last year or we will qualify for a free one in a few months. If you qualify for or have already gotten your biennial health check within 12 months of the renewal meeting, then you just need to email those results to the GET Program Manager. Otherwise, just wait until the following January, by which the free check will become available.
If you do not qualify for a free health check and do not wish to wait, you are welcome to pay for a Recruitment Health Check and submit those results at the renewal meeting. Prices for health checks and other services will differ from hospital to hospital, but generally cost 30,000 to 50,000 KRW.
Certified Hospitals
Not all hospitals are able to offer a comprehensive health check. See the related files at the bottom of this page for a list. You can also search for a hospital on the Korean version of the NHIS website (병원찾기). By searching on the website, you can filter the results for places that do both general and dental check-ups -- just check the boxes for 일반 and 구강.
When you arrive at the hospital, you should make sure they understand the correct test you need to undertake. The following note explains that you need to do a general health check, and that an HIV test and drug test is to be excluded. It also outlines that the results should be sealed and they should contact us if any problems arise:
광주광역시교육청 소속 원어민 영어교사입니다. 공무원채용신체검사 부탁드립니다. HIV 검사와 마약검사는 제외 부탁드립니다. 검진결과가 이상이 있거나 불합격이 나올 경우 반드시 062-380-4466로 연락바랍니다. 검진결과지 1부는 도장날인된 봉투에 밀봉하여 주시기 바랍니다. 기타 문의사항이 있을 경우에도 062-380-4466로 연락해주시면 되겠습니다. 감사합니다.
광주광역시교육청 국제교육팀
If you have specific questions about your health insurance, you can call the National Health Insurance English Hotline at 1577-1000.