Gov’t to distirbute condolence money for Covid vaccine deaths

[Photo by Han Joo-hyung]

The South Korean government will expand both the eligibility period and compensation amount for Covid-19 vaccine deaths. The eligible period to deaths will be extended to within 90 days of vaccination from 42 days and the condolence money will be raised to 30 million won ($22,471.91) from 10 million won.

“Even if it is hard to prove causality (between vaccination and death), a person who dies after vaccination will be eligible for death benefits and the amount of condolence money will be increased,” Park Dae-chul, head of the policy committee at the People Power Party, said on Wednesday after a meeting between the government and the ruling party on vaccine damage compensation at the National Assembly.

“We need to show that the government assumes responsibility for those who trusted the government and got vaccinated amid the unprecedented Covid-19 crisis.” Benefits will also be extended to those who died shortly after vaccination as well as unusual deaths. Deaths that occurred within three days of vaccination will be eligible for 10 million won in compensation, while 10 million to 30 million won will be offered for unusual deaths following a multifaceted review.

The government and the ruling party also announced that an additional amount of up to 20 million won will be provided for cases excluded from compensation due to the autopsy being performed before the system was introduced in July 2022. “We are on the same page that the nation has to take responsibility for abnormal vaccine reactions more faithfully,” Park said. “To that end, we decided to continue to extend the scope of causality recognition by factoring in domestic and international research results from the Covid-19 Vaccine Safety Research Center.”

In the same vein, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said that it is dropping its appeal against a lawsuit filed by the bereaved family of a man who died after Covid-19 vaccination. “We have decided to withdraw the appeal and are taking the necessary steps as a sign that the state takes utmost responsibility for the damage caused to those who joined the vaccination campaign during the Covid-19 crisis, ” according to Jee Youngmee, commissioner of the KDCA.

Earlier in 2021, a man aged 34 collapsed two days after getting his Covid vaccination and died several days later. However, after being denied compensation for vaccine damage, the bereaved family filed an administrative lawsuit against the KCDA to cancel the decision denying compensation, and the court recently sided with the family on the first trial. The KCDA disagreed and appealed the decision.