The livelihood support payment helps cover the living expenses of households that include a person who died in the October 29 Itaewon tragedy or an affected person and are experiencing difficulties in daily life because of the tragedy.

Bereaved family members or people recognized as victims may apply.

Submit your application to the department responsible for Itaewon tragedy livelihood support payments at the city, county, or district office with jurisdiction over your address.
Foreign nationals without a registered address may apply to the city, county, or district office with jurisdiction over the location of their embassy.

The livelihood support payment varies by household according to the number of household members and the type of harm, such as deceased victim or victim.

Household members are determined as of June 9, 2025, the start date for receiving livelihood support payment applications.

Because the livelihood support payment is paid by household, it is combined as one household and paid once.

When visiting the city, county, or district office with jurisdiction over your address to apply for the livelihood support payment, please bring your ID and a copy of your bankbook.

In addition to in-person submission, fax and postal submission are available. Please consult the livelihood support payment staff at the city, county, or district office with jurisdiction over your address and apply by your preferred method.

You do not need to bring separate documents. Tell the livelihood support payment staff that you are a victim of the Itaewon tragedy and show your ID.

The support period is 10 years, from October 29, 2022 to October 28, 2032.

Eligible conditions are physical and psychological illnesses, injuries, and aftereffects directly related to the Itaewon tragedy.
For physical illnesses, support is decided through individual review by the Medical Expense Support Deliberation Committee. Please contact the National Health Insurance Service in advance at 033-736-3330 or 3331.

Support covers treatment costs for eligible conditions at medical institutions, including pharmacies, such as statutory out-of-pocket costs, non-covered medical expenses, medicine costs, and assistive device costs.
Non-covered medical expenses are supported according to the decisions of the Medical Expense Support Deliberation Committee.

Please refer to the website path Victim Support > Support Guide > Medical Support > View Details > Download Medical Expense Support Procedure.

Submit medical expense application documents to the National Health Insurance Service Benefits Department at 033-736-3330 or 3331.

You can contact the National Health Insurance Service Benefits Department at 033-736-3330 or 3331, or the Ministry of Health and Welfare Call Center at 129.

Under the October 29 Itaewon Tragedy Special Act, bereaved family members, victims, and others who wish to receive psychological counseling are eligible.

Apply to a mental health welfare center near your home or to the National Trauma Center.
* Main number: 1577-0199 (available 24 hours)

Both in-person and remote counseling are available, and you may choose the method you prefer.

There are five centers nationwide, located in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul; Changnyeong, Gyeongnam; Naju, Jeonnam; Chuncheon, Gangwon; and Gongju, Chungnam.
* Seoul metropolitan area: National Trauma Center 02-2204-1434~5
Yeongnam region: Yeongnam Regional Trauma Center 055-520-2783
Honam region: Honam Regional Trauma Center 061-330-7724
Gangwon region: Gangwon Regional Trauma Center 033-260-3272
Chungcheong region: Chungcheong Regional Trauma Center 041-850-5883

This scheme allows workers who suffered physical or psychological harm due to the October 29 Itaewon tragedy to take leave to recover, and provides government financial support to companies (employers) that grant such leave. Workers may apply for up to six months of leave, with an extension of up to another six months if supported by a doctor's opinion. Employers may receive support for part of the payments made to workers during their leave and the cost of hiring replacement workers.

Workers who are bereaved family members (a deceased victim's spouse, direct ascendants or descendants, or siblings) or have been recognized as affected persons under Article 2 and subparagraph 3 of the Special Act may apply if they wish to take leave to recover from physical or psychological harm caused by the tragedy.

You may take up to six months of leave. If you submit a doctor's opinion or medical certificate issued within the 30 days before submitting the recovery leave application (or change application), you may extend the leave once by up to six months, for a total of up to one year.

An employer must grant recovery leave when a worker who is an affected person under the Special Act applies and meets the requirements. If your application is not accepted or you encounter difficulties during the process, contact the local Employment Center for guidance.

Employment retention cost support covers payments actually made by the employer to a worker during recovery leave, within the prescribed limits. It is advisable to discuss with your employer in advance whether payments will be made and what the amounts will be.

Under the current rules, workers wishing to take recovery leave may apply until September 16, 2028.

The application process is as follows.

① Submit a recovery leave application to your employer at least 30 days before the desired start date.

② The employer decides whether to grant the leave within 10 days of receiving the application and notifies the worker and the relevant Employment Center.

Workers should complete a recovery leave application and submit it to their employer.

The form can be downloaded from October 29 Itaewon Tragedy Victim Relief and Memorial Support Office website > Victim Support > Support Guide View Details > Recovery Leave (Employment Retention Costs) > Download Application Form.

Yes. If you need to change the planned start date, extend or shorten the leave, or withdraw your application, submit a recovery leave change application to your employer at least seven days before the relevant change takes effect. To extend the leave by up to six months on medical grounds, attach a medical certificate or doctor's opinion issued within the 30 days before submitting the application.

Employers that grant recovery leave may receive support for two types of costs.

Payments made to a worker on recovery leave are supported up to KRW 1,980,000 per person per month. Wages paid to a replacement worker employed continuously for at least 30 days are supported up to KRW 990,000 per person per month. If the payments or wages actually paid are below the respective limits, support is limited to the amount actually paid.

Apply to the Employment Center (Business Support Department) with jurisdiction over the workplace.

The application deadlines are as follows.

- To receive support after recovery leave ends: by the end of the month following the month in which the leave ends.
- To receive monthly support during recovery leave: by the end of the month following the month in which one month of leave is completed.

Attach a copy of the recovery leave application and evidence of payments, such as payslips, to the payment application. If a replacement worker was hired, also attach the employment contract and evidence of wage payments.

Please contact the following organizations.

- Victim Support Division, October 29 Itaewon Tragedy Victim Relief and Memorial Support Office: ☎ 02-2100-4042, 4047 (general inquiries about recovery leave)
- Corporate Employment Support Division, Ministry of Employment and Labor: ☎ 044-202-7219 (employment retention costs)
- The local Employment Center (Business Support Department) with jurisdiction over the workplace can also provide guidance on the application process.

This scheme provides legal services such as legal consultation and representation in civil proceedings. It covers consultation needed during the victim relief process, including applications for recognition as an affected person, as well as advice on inheritance, damages, and litigation procedures, and representation in eligible civil proceedings. Services are provided through the Korea Legal Aid Corporation and the Korean Bar Association (Korean Bar Association Legal Aid Foundation). Eligibility differs between legal consultation and litigation representation, so please check which type of support you qualify for.

Legal consultation is available both to affected persons under the Act on Ascertaining the Truth of the October 29 Itaewon Tragedy and to people undergoing victim relief procedures, including applications for recognition as an affected person. This includes people involved in fact-finding by the Special Investigation Commission on the Itaewon Tragedy or in victim relief procedures such as applications for recognition as an affected person to the Itaewon Tragedy Victim Relief Deliberation Committee.

You may receive the following types of consultation.

① Advice throughout fact-finding and the process of applying for recognition as an affected person, including preparing a statement describing the harm suffered and supplementing supporting documents.

② Information on laws, precedents, and litigation procedures related to the distribution of donations, inheritance, and damages, and an assessment of whether litigation is possible.

③ Legal assistance, such as preparing a criminal complaint, if you experience secondary victimization, including insults or defamation.

Litigation representation is available to bereaved family members of deceased victims under the Act on Ascertaining the Truth of the October 29 Itaewon Tragedy and to people recognized as affected persons by the Victim Relief Deliberation Committee. Unlike legal consultation, merely having an application for recognition as an affected person in progress does not make you eligible for litigation representation.

Apply to the Korea Legal Aid Corporation or the Korean Bar Association (Korean Bar Association Legal Aid Foundation).

① Legal consultation: apply by telephone (voice call), post, or email.

② Litigation representation: complete the 'Application for Legal Aid in Civil Cases, etc.' and submit it by post or email.

You may contact whichever of the two organizations is more convenient. After the application is received, a lawyer will be assigned and support will begin.

The documents required depend on the type of application.

- Legal consultation: one copy of the legal consultation application form, when applying by post or email.
- Litigation representation: ① an application for legal aid in civil cases, etc.; ② a summary of the facts underlying the legal aid application and relevant supporting documents; and ③ consent to the collection and use of personal information and its provision to third parties.

If the applicant is a minor, a legal representative's signature is required. The receiving organization will separately advise you if additional documents, such as a family relationship certificate, are needed.

The application forms can be downloaded from October 29 Itaewon Tragedy Victim Relief and Memorial Support Office website > Victim Support > Support Guide View Details > Recovery Leave (Employment Retention Costs) > Download Application Form.

Please feel free to contact the following organizations.

- Korea Legal Aid Corporation: ☎ 054-810-1093, 1074 (legal support applications)
- Korean Bar Association Legal Aid Foundation: ☎ 02-3476-6515 (legal support applications)
- Victim Support Division, October 29 Itaewon Tragedy Victim Relief and Memorial Support Office: ☎ 02-2100-4042, 4047 (general inquiries about the scheme)

Eligibility for support may vary depending on the facts of each case. If you are unsure whether you qualify, contact a service provider first to confirm.

Perpetrators may currently be punished for defamation, defamation of the deceased, and insult under the Criminal Act and the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection.

Secure as much evidence as possible, such as recordings and screenshots including URLs, and report it to the police or the Korea Communications Standards Commission so the perpetrator can be punished or the secondary victimization expression can be deleted or blocked.
For detailed reporting methods, please refer to each institution's reporting number and website.

A long-term follow-up study is a research method that selects the same target group and repeatedly observes and investigates changes in physical and mental health and recovery in daily life over several years.

It can objectively demonstrate disease causality over time and delayed aftereffects that are difficult to identify through a single cross-sectional survey, such as chronic pain, somatization, and psychological trauma.

The data is also used to analyze recovery patterns by subject and provide evidence for effective mid- to long-term national medical and welfare support systems and disaster response policies.

Please select the parts that apply to you among the victim types. Multiple selections are allowed.
Go to the October 29 Itaewon Tragedy Victim Recognition Application Manual

Yes. For the October 29 (Thu.) 4th anniversary remembrance ceremony, advance online registration will be available for ordinary citizens.
The October 24 (Sat.) citizens memorial gathering is open to everyone without advance registration.

Information on victim support, memorial projects, and related matters is available to everyone. However, the “Questions and Answers” and “Community Communication” services are available only to bereaved family members and victims of the Itaewon tragedy whose membership applications have been approved.

Membership is open to bereaved family members and victims of the Itaewon tragedy. On the registration page, agree to the Terms of Use and the collection and use of personal information, then verify your identity to submit your membership application. Member services become available after an administrator confirms your eligibility and approves your application.

Please check that you have entered your ID and password correctly. If you have forgotten your password, use “Find Password”. If the problem persists, contact the person listed at the bottom of the website.

The website is available on PCs, smartphones, and tablets. Please note that the way pages are displayed may vary depending on your device and browser.

After logging in, select “Write a Post” on the “Questions and Answers” or “Community Communication” board to create a post. Questions submitted to “Questions and Answers” will be reviewed and answered by the person responsible for the relevant subject area.

After logging in, you can edit or delete your own posts from “My Page” or the relevant board. Please note that editing or deletion may be restricted once a reply has been posted.

In “My Page”, you can change the notification delivery channel for your posts and choose whether to receive notifications.

Use the “Report” function on the relevant post or comment. An administrator reviews reported content and may take measures such as hiding or deleting it in accordance with the website’s operating policies.

Use “Send System Improvement Feedback” at the bottom of the website, or contact the person listed there using the provided contact details. Including the page where the error occurred, the time of the error, and information about your device and browser will help us investigate more quickly.

Korean nationals can sign up after verifying their identity through simple authentication such as Kakao, PASS, or Naver.
Foreign nationals can sign up through simple authentication or Google OTP authentication.
You can use all services once administrator approval is completed after sign-up.