Disability Registration Refusal and Degree of Disability Disputes — Objection and Administrative Appeal

Procedure

1. 1. Check the reason for refusal in the decision notice

   First distinguish whether the reason stated in the notice is a lack of diagnostic materials or a difference in interpretation of the guidelines and statutes. If the materials were insufficient, supplementing them and applying again may be faster; if it is a difference in interpretation, disputing the decision through an objection or an administrative appeal is the right course.

2. 2. Strengthen the supporting evidence

   In addition to the specialist's written opinion and test results, gather materials that show functional impairment in daily life. For developmental disabilities, special education class history, school records and a teacher's written opinion are helpful. There are also administrative appeal rulings in which, where test scores were unreliable because the person did not cooperate with testing, functional impairment was proven with such materials.

3. 3. Submit the written objection

   Submit the written objection to the eup, myeon or dong community service center or the city, county or district (si/gun/gu) office for your address within 90 days from the date you receive the decision notice. If you submit your opinion and supporting materials together, the National Pension Service reviews the case again.

4. 4. File an administrative appeal

   If you also disagree with the result of the objection, or wish to dispute the decision separately from an objection, file an administrative appeal. It must be filed within 90 days from the date you became aware of the disposition and within 180 days from the date of the disposition. If you do not accept the result of the administrative appeal, you may file an administrative lawsuit within 90 days.

Required documents

• Notice of decision on degree of disability
• Written objection (or written request for administrative appeal)
• Specialist's disability diagnosis certificate and written opinion; test result sheets
• Medical records; treatment and rehabilitation history
• Developmental disability: special education class history, school records, teacher's written opinion
• Materials showing daily living function (statement by a guardian, etc.)

Fees

In the industry, fees for drafting a written objection or a written request for administrative appeal generally run from several hundred thousand won to the 1,000,000 won range and vary depending on the volume of materials and the issues. Recipients of basic livelihood security and people in the near-poverty group can receive support of up to 100,000 won for disability diagnosis test costs. We will advise after reviewing the decision notice in a consultation.

See fees and official charges for this service →

Legal basis and review date

• Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities, Article 32
• Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities, Article 84
• Enforcement Rule of the Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities, Article 2
• Enforcement Rule of the Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities, Article 3
• Administrative Appeals Act, Article 27
• Administrative Litigation Act, Article 20

Checked against the statutes on 2026-09-30

Statutes and public notices change, so each case needs to be checked individually. Statute titles are given in English for reference. The Korean statutes are the authoritative text.

Check these first

• An objection must be filed within 90 days from the date you receive the decision notice, and an administrative appeal within 90 days from the date you became aware of the disposition.
• Before supplementing the medical certificate, first check whether the reason for refusal is a problem of materials or a problem of interpretation.

Frequently asked questions