As globalization has enabled various kinds of international exchanges to take place more frequently, the number of companies entering into other markets, detached workers, and migrants have increased. Accordingly, an increase in pension contributions made overseas has followed. In this regard, the National Pension Service (NPS) promoted social security agreements with the aim of reducing the contribution burden on companies and dispatched workers while protecting eligibility for benefits that were made overseas.

The NPS signed its first ever social security agreement in 1999, however, as of late July 2015, it has concluded agreements with 31 countries through a systemic and effective agreement process, outnumbering countries like the U.S. (25), Australia (29), and Japan (15) that started processing agreements in the 1960s. It is committed to lessening the contribution burden while protecting the pension rights of both Korean and foreign nationals.