REGULATIONS ON THE PAYMENT OF HONORARY RETIREMENT ALLOWANCES FOR STATE PUBLIC OFFICIALS

Article 1(Purpose) #

The purpose of this Decree is to prescribe matters relating to the payment of honorary retirement allowances under Article 74-2(1) of the State Public Officials Act, the allowances under paragraph (2) of that Article, the recovery of such allowances under paragraph (3) of that Article, the eligibility criteria for allowances under Article 74-3(1) of that Act, procedures for payment, etc. <Amended on Apr. 22, 2013>

[This Article Wholly Amended on Jan. 26, 2012]

Article 2(Scope of application) #

Except as otherwise expressly provided in other statutes or regulations, this Decree shall apply to the payment of honorary retirement allowances under Article 74-2(1) of the Act and the payment of allowances under Article 74-2(2) (hereinafter referred to as "early retirement allowances") to public officials in career service as defined in Article 2(2) of the State Public Officials Act (hereinafter referred to as the "Act") and the payment of voluntary retirement allowances for the voluntary retirement of public officials in extraordinary civil service under Article 74-3(1) of the Act (hereinafter referred to as "voluntary retirement allowances") from among public officials in non-career service as defined in Article 2(3) of the Act.

[This Article Wholly Amended on Jan. 26, 2012]

Article 3(Eligibility for honorary retirement allowances) #

(1) A person eligible to receive an honorary retirement allowance shall be any of the following public officials (excluding public officials in fixed term positions under Article 26-5 of the Act) who have served for at least 20 years as calculated under Article 25(1) through (3) of the Public Officials Pension Act, and who retires voluntarily before at least 1 year prior to his or her mandatory retirement date; provided, this shall not apply to persons who have already received an honorary retirement allowance (including meritorious retirement allowances, honorary discharge allowances, etc.; hereinafter the same shall apply) under this Decree or other statutes or regulations (including those who have fully repaid the amount of honorary retirement allowance received under Article 74-2(3)1, 1-2, 1-3, or 2 of the Act as an amount of recovery): <Amended on Dec. 11, 2013; Sep. 18, 2018; Dec. 24, 2019; Jul. 14, 2020; Dec. 29, 2023>

1. A public official in general service;

2. A prosecutor (excluding the Chief Prosecutor of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, and prosecutors who currently hold or have held positions falling under subparagraphs 1 through 4 of Article 2 of the Regulations on the Scope of Positions of Prosecutors of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office at the Prosecutor Level or Higher);

3. A foreign service official excluding those of Grade XIV;

4. A police official ranked chief superintendent general or lower;

5. A firefighting official ranked deputy fire commissioner or lower;

6. An educational official (excluding fixed -term appointees except principals);

7. A civilian military employee and a staff member of the National Intelligence Service;

8. Deleted. <Dec. 11, 2013>

(2) The Minister of Personnel Management may restrict the scope of eligibility under paragraph (1), if unavoidable due to budgetary reasons. <Amended on Mar. 23, 2013; Nov. 19, 2014>

(3) Any of the following persons as of the date of application for an honorary retirement allowance, shall be excluded from eligibility: <Amended on Apr. 22, 2013; Dec. 11, 2013; Jun. 2, 2025>

1. Any of the following persons:

a. A person for whom a resolution on disciplinary action shall be requested after being notified of the results of an investigation by an investigative agency under Article 83(3) of the Act;

Article 4(Amount of honorary retirement allowances to be paid) #

The amount of the honorary retirement allowance shall be calculated in accordance with Appendix 1; provided, if a person becomes disable in the line of duty while performing life-threatening or physically dangerous duties, such as counter-espionage operations or equivalent national security-related duties, the arrest of criminals, or firefighting, he or she shall be paid an additional amount listed in Appendix 2 within the budget. <Amended on Sep. 18, 2018>

[This Article Wholly Amended on Jan. 26, 2012]

Article 5(Matters regarding payment of honorary retirement allowances) #

(1) The application period for the payment of honorary retirement allowances and the expected date of honorary retirement shall be as specified in Appendix 3; provided, the head of the central administrative agency may, if necessary, set the period and the date differently from provided in Appendix 3, taking into consideration the nature of the duties or the circumstances of the relevant agency. <Amended on Mar. 23, 2013; Nov. 19, 2014; Dec. 24, 2019; Dec. 29, 2023>

(2) An honorary retirement allowance shall be paid on the date of retirement, but if a person becomes eligible for the allowance under Article 3(4), it shall be paid within 15 days from the date a payment decision is made under Article 7(1); provided, if the date on which the honorary retirement allowance is paid falls on a Saturday or a public holiday, the payment shall be made on the immediately preceding business date. <Amended on Jun. 2, 2025>

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), if the head of a central administrative agency is unable to pay an honorary retirement allowance on the date under that paragraph due to budgetary circumstances, etc., he or she shall notify the eligible person of such fact in advance and make the payment as promptly as possible. <Added on Dec. 24, 2019>

[This Article Wholly Amended on Jan. 26, 2012]

Article 6(Application for payment of honorary retirement allowances) #

(1) A person who intends to receive an honorary retirement allowance shall submit an application for honorary retirement allowance using Form 1 to the head of the affiliated central administrative agency through the head of the affiliated institution, along with the following documents, within the application period under Article 5(1). In such cases, if the head of the affiliated institution receives the application within such period, it shall be deemed to have been received by the head of the affiliated central administrative agency: <Amended on Dec. 24, 2019; Jun. 2, 2025>

1. One copy of the personnel record card; provided, if the information can be verified electronically, submission may be omitted;

2. One copy of the application for honorary retirement (Form 2); provided, the submission may be omitted if the application is made under paragraph (3);

3. A career certificate (applicable only where the application is filed under Article 7-2(1)).

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if a person eligible for the honorary retirement allowance under Article 3(1) falls under any of the following subparagraphs and applies for honorary retirement allowance at least 15 days prior to the intended retirement date, he or she may apply for the voluntary retirement allowance outside the application period under Article 5(1); provided, if urgently needed by the head of a central administrative agency for personnel management purposes, the 15-day period may be shortened: <Amended on Dec. 11, 2013; Dec. 24, 2019; Jan. 5, 2021>

1. Where a person who retired to assume a position in non-career service or retired without receiving an honorary retirement allowance and was reappointed to the position within 3 years of retirement under Article 7-2(1)1, resigns from the non-career service position;

2. Where a public official in career service who was appointed to a fixed-term position, instead of a career-service position, without any interruption in public official status, resigns from the fixed-term position;

3. Where a person retires due to the change or abolition of the organizational structure or staffing quota, or other unavoidable reasons.

(3) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), if a person becomes eligible for an honorary retirement allowance under Article 3(4), he or she may file an application for such allowance within 3 years from the date he or she comes to fall under any of the subparagraphs of that paragraph. In such cases, the application, as specified in Form 1, shall be submitted to the head of the competent central administrative agency via the head of the agency the applicant was affiliated with prior to retirement, along with the documents falling under the subparagraphs of paragraph (1) and supporting materials evidencing that the applicant falls under any subparagraph of Article 3(4). <Added on Jun. 2, 2025>

Article 7(Determination on payment of honorary retirement allowances) #

(1) Upon receiving an application for an honorary retirement allowance under Article 6, the head of a central administrative agency shall determine whether the applicant is eligible for payment within 10 days from the end of the application period (where the application is filed under Article 6(2) and (3), referring to the date of application; hereafter in this Chapter the same shall apply), taking into consideration the budget, etc. The same shall also apply where the applicant dies after submitting the application. <Amended on Jun. 2, 2025>

(2) Before determining eligibility for voluntary retirement allowances under paragraph (1), the head of the central administrative agency shall verify whether the applicant is subject to payment restrictions under Article 3(3) and his or her continuous service period at the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, the Public Prosecutors' Office, the Korean National Police Agency, the Public Officials Pension Service, etc. <Amended on Apr. 22, 2013; Jul. 14, 2020>

(3) The head of the central administrative agency shall give preference to the following persons when making the determination under paragraph (1):

1. High-ranking public officials;

2. Public officials with long-term service.

[This Article Wholly Amended on Jan. 26, 2012]

Article 7-2(Special cases concerning payment of honorary retirement allowances for public officials in career service who retired to assume non-career service positions) #

(1) Notwithstanding Article 6(1) and (3), if a person eligible for an honorary retirement allowance under Article 3(1) falls under any of the following cases, he or she shall apply for the allowance to the head of the central administrative agency classified as follows at the time of retirement from his or her position (in the case of Article 6(3), at the time he or she falls under any subparagraph of Article 3(4)). In such cases, if there is any unavoidable reason, such as the abolition of the relevant central administrative agency, the application shall be submitted to the head of an agency designated by the Minister of Personnel Management: <Amended on Nov. 19, 2014; Dec. 29, 2023; Jun. 2, 2025>

1. Where he or she who retires to assume a non-career service position as defined in Article 2 of the Act or Article 2 of the Local Public Officials Act (excluding public officials in political service; hereafter in this Article the same shall apply) or retires without receiving an honorary retirement allowance, and is reappointed as a public official in non-career service within 3 years of such retirement: The head of the central administrative agency to which the public official originally belong at the time of his or her retirement from the career-service position and immediately prior to the appointment to the non-career service position;

2. Where he or she is appointed as a public official in a fixed term position without interruption in public official status: The head of the central administrative agency to which he or she originally belonged during his or her tenure in the career-service position and immediately prior to the appointment to the fixed term position.

(2) If a person who has applied for an honorary retirement allowance under the subparagraphs of paragraph (1) is not subject to restrictions on payment under Article 3(3), the head of the central administrative agency classified under the subparagraphs of paragraph (1) shall disburse the amount calculated under Appendix 1 to such person. In such cases, the monthly salary shall be calculated based on the time of retirement as a public official in career service immediately before assuming the relevant non-career service position, or the time of employment in a career service position immediately before being appointed as a public official in the relevant fixed term position, and the remaining period until retirement (only applicable where at least 1 year remains) shall be classified as follows:

1. Where a person falling under paragraph (1)1 applies for payment: The period calculated by subtracting the period between the retirement date as a public official in career service and the retirement date as a public official in non-career service, from the remaining period until retirement at the time of retirement from a career service position, immediately prior to the employment as a public official in non-career service;

Article 8(Notification of persons eligible for honorary retirement allowance) #

Upon determining that a person is eligible for a voluntary retirement allowance under Article 7(1), the head of a central administrative agency shall immediately notify the applicant (referring to a person entitled to inheritance under the Civil Act in cases falling under the latter part of Article 7(1)) through the head of the affiliated institution.

[This Article Wholly Amended on Jan. 26, 2012]

Article 8-2 #

Deleted. <Oct. 14, 2008>

Article 9(Revocation of determination of persons eligible for honorary retirement allowances) #

If a person determined to be eligible for an honorary retirement allowance is found to fall under any subparagraph of Article 3(3) during the period from the application period for the honorary retirement allowance until the date of honorary retirement, the head of the central administrative agency shall revoke the determination without delay. In such cases, Article 8 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the notification of revocation of such determination. <Amended on Dec. 29, 2023>

[This Article Wholly Amended on Jan. 26, 2012]

Article 9-2(Public officials subject to recovery of honorary retirement allowances by the State) #

"Public officials prescribed by Presidential Decree" in Article 74-2(3)2 of the Act means the following public officials:

1. Public officials in career service defined in Article 2(2) of the Local Public Officials Act;

2. Public officials in non-career service defined in Article 2(3) of the Act or Article 2(3) of the Local Public Officials Act (excluding public officials in political service appointed through election).

[This Article Wholly Amended on Jan. 26, 2012]

Article 9-3(Amount of recovery and settlement of honorary retirement allowances) #

(1) If an honorary retirement allowance is to be recovered due to reasons under the subparagraphs of Article 74-2(3) of the Act, the standards for calculating the amount of recovery shall be as specified in Appendix 4.

(2) If a person who has repaid the recovery amount under paragraph (1) due to the reason under Article 74-2(3)2 of the Act has worked for a period shorter than the period used to calculate the recovered amount (referring the period excluding the period from the date of honorary retirement and the date of reappointment from the remaining period until retirement at the time of retirement as a public official in career service), the honorary retirement allowance shall be recalculated and disbursed in accordance with Appendix 4; provided, no settlement amount shall be paid to a person who retires as a public official in political service.

[This Article Wholly Amended on Jan. 26, 2012]

Article 9-4(Procedures for recovery and settlement of honorary retirement allowances) #

(1) The head of the central administrative agency that has paid an honorary retirement allowance (hereinafter referred to as the "head of the central administrative agency responsible for payment") shall, without delay, issue a notice of recovery of the honorary retirement allowance (hereinafter referred to as the "notice of recovery") if the person who received the allowance falls under Article 74-2(3)1, 1-2, 1-3, or 3 of the Act, and if the person who received the notice fails to repay the notified amount within 30 days of receipt, the amount may be collected in the same manner as national taxes are compulsorily collected under the former part of Article 74-2(4) of the Act. <Amended on Apr. 22, 2013; Nov. 30, 2021>

(2) If a person who has received an honorary retirement allowance is reappointed as a public official falling under any of the following subparagraphs (excluding those in political service appointed through election), the head of the relevant central administrative agency classified as follows shall, without delay, issue a notice of recovery to the person reappointed, and if the person who has received the notice of recovery fails to make the payment within 30 days from the date of receiving the notice, the amount may be collected in the same manner as national taxes are compulsorily collected under the former part of Article 74-2(4) of the Act: <Amended on Apr. 22, 2013; Nov. 30, 2021; Dec. 29, 2023>

1. A public official falling under Article 2(2) and (3) of the Act: The head of the central administrative agency to which the person is reappointed;

2. A public official falling under Article 2(2) and (3) of the Local Public Officials Act: The head of the central administrative agency responsible for payment.

(3) If the person who has received the notice of recovery under paragraphs (1) and (2) fails to make the payment by the due date, interest shall be added to the notified amount, and the statutory interest rate under Article 3(1) shall apply when calculating the interest. <Amended on Nov. 30, 2021>

(4) The head of the central administrative agency required to issue a notice of recovery to a public official reappointed under paragraph (2)1, may request the head of the central administrative agency responsible for payment to provide relevant data to ensure recovery, etc. of the honorary retirement allowance. <Added on Dec. 24, 2019; Nov. 30, 2021; Dec. 29, 2023>

(5) If a person who has paid the recovery amount under paragraph (2) retires, the head of the central administrative agency that has recovered the honorary retirement allowance from him or her shall disburse the settlement of the honorary retirement allowance under Article 9-3(2) on his or her retirement date (within 30 days from the retirement date in avoidable cases such as budgetary constraints, etc.). <Amended on Apr. 22, 2013; Dec. 24, 2019; Nov. 30, 2021>

Article 9-5(Verification of punishment) #

The head of the central administrative agency responsible for payment shall verify whether a person who has received an honorary retirement allowance falls under Article 74-2(3)1, 1-2, and 1-3 of the Act as of June 30 and December 31 of each year, and if a person is found to fall under the same provisions, shall take measures necessary to recover the amount and notify the Minister of Personnel Management of the results of such verification and recovery measures within 30 days from each verification date. <Amended on Mar. 23, 2013; Apr. 22, 2013; Nov. 19, 2014>

[This Article Wholly Amended on Jan. 26, 2012]

Article 10(Special cases concerning educational officials) #

(1) When necessary to pay honorary retirement allowances to educational and firefighting officials whose salaries are funded from local governments' budget, the Minister of Education or the Commissioner of the National Fire Agency may, in consultation with the Director of the Ministry of Personnel Innovation, prescribed and implement special provisions regarding Articles 5 through 7, Article 7-2, Article 8, Article 9, and Articles 9-2 through 9-5. <Amended on Mar. 23, 2013; Nov. 19, 2014; Mar. 10, 2020>

(2) When necessary for the payment of honorary retirement allowances to military personnel and the staff members of the National Intelligence Service, the Minister of National Defense or the Director of the National Intelligence Service may, in consultation with the Director of the Ministry of Personnel Management and the Minister of Planning and Budget, prescribed and implement special provisions regarding Articles 5 through 7, 7-2, 8, 9, and Articles 9-2 through 9-5. <Amended on Mar. 23, 2013; Nov. 19, 2014; Dec. 30, 2025>

[This Article Wholly Amended on Jan. 26, 2012]

Article 11(Eligibility for early retirement allowances and voluntary retirement allowances and amount thereof) #

(1) A person eligible to receive an early retirement allowance shall be a public official in career service (excluding those in fixed-term positions) who has served for at least 1 year but less than 20 years and who retires voluntarily within 3 months from the date his or her position is eliminated or the staffing levels are exceeded due to the change or abolition of the organizational structure or staffing levels, the budget reduction, etc. <Amended on Dec. 11, 2013; Jan. 5, 2021>

(2) A person eligible to receive a voluntary retirement allowance shall be a public official in extraordinary civil service (excluding secretaries and assistants) who has served for at least 1 year and who retires voluntarily within 3 months from the date his or her position is eliminated or the staffing levels are exceeded due to the change or abolition of the organizational structure or staffing levels, the budget reduction, etc. <Amended on Jan. 5, 2021>

(3) The amount of early retirement allowances under paragraph (1) and the amount of voluntary retirement allowances under paragraph (2) shall be equivalent to the 6-months' salary at the time of retirement; provided, if the remaining period before reaching the retirement age or maximum service age is less than 6 months, the amount corresponding to the remaining period shall apply.

(4) A person who falls under any subparagraph of Article 3(3) as of the application date for the payment of an early retirement allowance shall be excluded from eligibility for the allowance.

(5) Any of the following persons shall be excluded from eligibility for an honorary retirement allowance: <Amended on Apr. 22, 2013; Dec. 11, 2013>

1. A person eligible for an honorary retirement allowance or settlement thereof under this Decree or other statutes or regulations;

2. Any of the following persons as of the application date for a voluntary retirement allowance:

a. A person for whom a resolution on disciplinary action shall be requested after being notified of the results of an investigation by an investigative agency under Article 83(3) of the Act;

b. A person against whom a disciplinary action has been requested by the head of a relevant administrative agency, such as the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea;

c. A person for whom a resolution on disciplinary action has been requested to the Disciplinary Committee;

Article 12(Application for payment of early retirement allowances and voluntary retirement allowances) #

(1) A person who intends to receive an early retirement allowance or voluntary retirement allowance (hereinafter referred to as "early retirement allowances, etc.") shall submit an application for early retirement allowances, etc. using Form 3 to the head of the affiliated central administrative agency via the head of the affiliated institution, along with the following documents, within the period under Article 11(1) or (2): <Amended on Jun. 2, 2025>

1. One copy of the personnel record card; provided, if the information can be verified electronically, submission may be omitted;

2. One copy of the application for early retirement or voluntary retirement (Form 2); provided, the submission may be omitted if the application is filed under paragraph (2);

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if a person becomes eligible for an early retirement allowance, etc. under Article 11(6), he or she may file an application for such allowance within 3 years from the date he or she comes to fall under any subparagraph of that paragraph. In such cases, the application, as specified in Form 3, shall be submitted to the head of the competent central administrative agency via the head of the agency the applicant was affiliated with prior to retirement, along with the documents falling under the subparagraphs of paragraph (1) and supporting materials evidencing that the applicant falls under any subparagraph of Article 11(6). <Added on Jun. 2, 2025>

(3) Upon receiving an application for early retirement allowances, etc. under paragraph (1) or (2), the head of a central administrative agency shall determine whether to disburse the amount within 10 days, and immediately notify the applicant of the decision via the head of the affiliated institution. <Amended on Jun. 2, 2025>

(4) Before deciding whether to make the payment under paragraph (3), the head of the central administrative agency shall verify whether the applicant is subject to payment restrictions under Article 11(4) or (5) and his or her continuous service period at the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea, the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, the Public Prosecutors' Office, the Korean National Police Agency, the Public Officials Pension Service, etc. <Amended on Apr. 22, 2013; Jul. 14, 2020; Jun. 2, 2025>

(5) Article 5(2) and (3) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the date of payment of early retirement allowances, etc. In such cases, "voluntary retirement allowance" shall be construed as "early retirement allowance, etc.", "Article 3(4)" as "Article 11(6)", and "Article 7(1)" as "Article 12(3)". <Added on Dec. 24, 2019; Jun. 2, 2025>

Article 13(Detailed operating rules) #

The method of determining persons eligible for honorary retirement allowances and early retirement allowances, etc., the method of payment, and other details necessary for the enforcement of this Decree shall be determined by the Minister of Personnel Management and Innovation. <Amended on Mar. 23, 2013; Nov. 19, 2014>

[This Article Wholly Amended on Jan. 26, 2012]