Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Snowmeow]

Some of you must have been in this situation before.

The hagwon that employs me has changed its name, and needs to submit an updated contract to immigration. Rather than the original start and ending dates on the contract, the owner wants it to say starting in January (when the name change occurred) to April 30th, rather than my original start and end dates. This is to show that the contract has been updated. He refuses to use the old dates, saying that Immigration knows about the situation and that I shouldn't be concerned. But to me it doesn't seem like a safe thing to do, and I am very reluctant to sign anything at this point.

My plan tonight is to write an amendment that states that my original start and end dates remain unchanged and that my contract is for 365 days duration rather than the 4 months indicated on the contract, which I will ask the employer to sign.

Am I missing anything? Any input from experience?

[Wrench]

Sounds like he is trying to pull a fast one with severence and locking you in for more time.. I smell scumbag.. DON'T TRUST KOREANS especialy Haqwon owners.

[ChuckECheese]

I agree with wrench.

It's good of you to take precautionary measures.

Changing the hagwon's name in the middle of the contract doesn't allow him to change your terms in contract. The only thing the hagwon master should have done is to make an amendment stating the change of name.

[babtangee]

[Adventurer]

He sounds like he is trying to exploit you. I would call 1350 on my phone and talk to someone who speaks English. They might be able to give you advice on how to deal with your boss. What he is suggesting is unacceptable. If you sign it, it would look like you are resigning your contract. I am not sure how that works because your visa is not good beyond a certain point, but he could try to use it to weasel out of the severance. I would consult with Korean officials and becareful about signing anything.

[khyber]

NEVER trust a korean who says "Don't worry. Immigration says it is okay". Never.
When you walk into immigration and hear someone say that, THEN you have the opportunity to use judgement.

DON'T SIGN!

[Adventurer]

[Snowmeow]

Thank you all for the information, especially for that phone number. My boss is usually pretty good but I am not going to bend over and cross my fingers like he is expecting me to do.

I've written an amendment to the working contract with some help from my father, and it will be the only thing I will be willing to sign tomorrow.

Format is messed up due to cut and paste, and names are removed

***************************

Amendment to Working Contract

In reference to the employment agreement made by and between __________________________ (�Employer�) and ___________ (�Employee�) and dated (date) such agreement is hereby amended to include the following condition.

1. The name of the employer has been changed from (old name) to ____________________________ as of January 2, 2007.

The undersigned agree that the terms of this amendment are made effective as of January 5th, 2007.


___________________________ ______________________________
Date Employer
______________________________
Employee

[Young FRANKenstein]

[ilovebdt]

Why doesn't he just submit your old contract again and change the first part to say: This contract is between Mr Kim's Sweat Shop formally known as Mr Ju's Sweat Shop and etc and include in the contract details about the name change?

Or is that too simple?

As other people have said, I would be wary of signing a new contract with different dates because he MAY try and screw you re severance etc.

ilovebdt

[Snowmeow]

I was mistaken, the reason they wanted me to sign the "new" contract with the changed dates was that the ownership and type of business had changed from single person, to a stock company.

I did refuse to sign, and gave them my amendment form instead, and I didn't hear anything else about it that day.

edit - changed the words "publicly traded" to stock

[bellum99]

[Snowmeow]

The school has multiple branches but as far as I know it is local to Busan.

Hmm I was told that the school is now part of a "stock company" which I guess is not the same as being a publicly traded company, that was my mistake. It could be more along the lines of the Wikipedia definition of joint stock company:

"a type of business partnership in which the capital is formed by the individual contributions of a group of shareholders. Certificates of ownership or stocks are issued by the company in return for each contribution, and the shareholders are free to transfer their ownership interest at any time by selling their stock holding to others."

A new concern that my parents brought up with me is the issue of accountability. At this point, I am not even sure who it is that I need to be in touch with when I have a concern that needs to be addressed. The former owner doesn't seem interested in responding to me or my mother. I think the former owner has a good chunk of ownership in the company still but this is all so new (only heard about it Friday) that I don't know much about the situation.

[ChuckECheese]

Don't sign anything until you know the full scoop.

It seems like hagwon master is trying to confuse you into signing a new contract to screw you in someway.

[freethought]

not that this is anything new, but I would do as someone suggested; include a specific statement in the new contract stating that at the end of the contract the school owes you one month and a plane ticket.

I had a three name changes, and a bankrupcy happen to me when I worked at a hagwon, and in my view name changes are the respite of the washed up celebrity, crazies and failing hagwons.