The Ministry of Health and Welfare has decided to strengthen National Pension screening for foreigners.

This comes in response to criticism that some foreigners who worked in South Korea for only a short period paid their insurance premiums in a lump sum to meet the 120-month requirement for receiving the National Pension, and then received pensions for the rest of their lives.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare stated that it will improve the system so that retroactive payment of insurance premiums is permitted only for the period of actual residence in South Korea.