Under the Korean Social Security system, a worker can receive a lump-sum refund of the employee and employer contributions paid on his or her behalf, plus interest, if the worker attains age 60, but has less than the 10 years of coverage required for benefit eligibility. In addition, the survivors of a worker may receive a refund of contributions if the worker dies without enough coverage for the worker's survivors to qualify for survivors benefits. Under Korean law, however, contribution refunds may only be paid to non-Korean nationals if they are citizens of countries with Social Security systems that pay contribution refunds to Korean nationals or if provided by an international agreement. Article 5.6(a) provides that contribution refunds will be payable to U.S. nationals on the same basis they are paid to Korean nationals.

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