Most college students heading out for a field practicum -- and their parents -- brush past the question of what happens if they get hurt. The assumption is that interns aren't regular employees, so industrial accident insurance simply doesn't apply to them. But Article 123 of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act explicitly treats field practicum students as workers of the business hosting them, and that rule has already covered university students for eight years. Yet the schools sending students out, and the workplaces receiving them, often never mention it.

Field practicum students are legally treated as workers

Article 123, Paragraph 1 of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act states that "a field practicum student or trainee designated by the Minister of Employment and Labor shall, for the purposes of this Act, be considered a worker employed by that business." A practicum student hasn't signed an employment contract for wages, so they aren't a "worker" under the Labor Standards Act -- but for industrial accident insurance purposes specifically, they hold the same status as a regular employee. If something goes wrong during a practicum, the claim that "interns aren't covered" simply has no legal basis.

A 2018 notice expanded coverage to university students

Originally, only students at vocational high schools were covered. Then, on September 11, 2018, the Ministry of Employment and Labor revised the relevant notice to extend coverage to students at four-year universities and junior colleges as well. That expansion pushed the number of covered practicum students from roughly 60,000 at vocational high schools to about 220,000 across all industrial sites. In other words, the field practicum or internship a university student takes today has already been covered by this special provision for years. That said, only industrial accident insurance is mandatory -- employment insurance, national pension, and health insurance are not required, so if a host workplace says a student isn't covered by the "four major insurances," that doesn't mean industrial accident coverage is off the table too.

The host workplace pays the premium, not the school

Who actually pays for this insurance is another common point of confusion. The answer is that the business hosting the practicum bears the premium -- not the school, and not the student. Premiums are calculated based on whatever training allowance or other payment the student actually receives, and the reporting and payment process follows the same rules as ordinary industrial accident insurance. Before heading out, it's worth checking with the school's practicum office whether the host workplace has actually completed its insurance registration.

Compensation is calculated from the training allowance

An accident or illness that occurs during a practicum is recognized as an occupational injury, entitling the student to medical care benefits, temporary disability benefits, and more. The base amount for these benefits is whatever training allowance or other payment the student receives, and if that allowance falls short of the minimum wage, temporary disability benefits are calculated using the minimum wage instead. When the practicum ends, the insurance relationship ends with it -- but unlike a regular employee, that ending is not recorded as a resignation or job change, which reflects the special nature of this provision.

Students can file the claim themselves with the Workers' Compensation Service

The person entitled to file an industrial accident claim is the injured student (or their guardian) -- not the host workplace. There's no need to give up just because the workplace won't file it for you. Medical care benefits can be requested online through the Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service's total service portal, or a treating hospital certified for industrial accident care can be asked to file the claim on the student's behalf. If a claim is refused on the grounds that the host workplace never registered for insurance, that refusal itself is incorrect guidance -- the right move is to contact the Workers' Compensation Service directly.

A three-year deadline -- miss it, and the claim is gone

The right to claim medical care and temporary disability benefits expires three years after the day following the date care was received. If complications only appear well after the practicum ends, or if only the medical bills were handled at the time while temporary disability benefits were never claimed, the first thing to check is whether that three-year window is still open. Filing a claim once stops the clock on the portion within three years of the filing date and on anything that arises afterward -- so when in doubt, it's better to file first and sort out the details later.

How this differs from other student insurance gaps

This same "you're covered even if no one registered you" logic shows up elsewhere in student life, but the legal basis is never identical. A field practicum student is covered only because Article 123 creates a specific exception for a relationship that isn't an employment contract to begin with. If your family is dealing with a different kind of insurance gap -- say, a child's health insurance coverage while studying overseas -- the underlying problem -- coverage that quietly lapses without anyone telling you -- is strikingly similar, even though the program itself is completely different. We cover that situation in Health Insurance for a Child Studying Abroad -- Skip the Suspension Notice and You Keep Paying for Coverage You Can't Use.

In short

Here's the order to check things in: (1) before heading out, confirm with the school's practicum office whether the host workplace has registered for industrial accident insurance; (2) if an accident happens, get treatment first, then file a medical care claim with a certified hospital or the Workers' Compensation Service; (3) check whether temporary disability benefits are being calculated against the minimum wage if the training allowance falls short of it; (4) file no later than three years from the date care was received. Plenty of students still give up on compensation simply because they were "just an intern" -- but the law has had their back since 2018. For what happens when a part-time job's wages go unpaid, see A Teen Whose Part-Time Wages Go Unpaid Can File a Labor Complaint Alone, and for accidents during school commutes or campus activities, see Injured at School -- the School Safety Mutual Aid Scheme, How to Notify and Claim, and the Three-Year Limit. This article is general information and does not determine whether any specific accident qualifies for industrial accident approval. For exact eligibility and filing procedures, contact the Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service (1588-0075) or your regional branch.