South Korea is reviewing National Pension rules after foreign nationals qualified for monthly old-age benefits despite making domestic contributions for as little as one month and then paying up to 119 months of eligible past premiums retroactively. The government is considering checks on applicants’ actual residence and contribution histories, along with stronger verification of documents issued overseas. The program, introduced in 1999 and expanded in 2016, was designed to restore contribution gaps caused by unemployment, business suspension, marriage or childbirth and later covered certain exemption periods for non-earning spouses and basic livelihood benefit recipients. Cases involving F-2, F-4, F-5 and F-6 visa holders, particularly ethnic Koreans from China, have raised questions about whether the system is being used consistently with its safety-net purpose, as well as concerns over eligibility verification, a potential conflict with Article 126 of the National Pension Act, mistaken payments to beneficiaries living overseas and survivor-pension management.