Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Fredbob]

This guy I know spent a few months last year on the tail end of an E2 visa wasn't cancelled, working for a company in various, sort of ESL related work, lectures, text editing, curriculum planning, that kind of thing. Apparently, he got strung along by a Korean business man who claimed initially that getting him a visa would be no problem, then talked about a business visa.. blah blah blah, finally, the old visa expires, he ran out his tourist visa and pickup up a legit position at a hagwon. Should be simple enough, no blood, no foul.

And then, he tells the first guy, look, I can't work with you anymore, I'm tired of taking the risk of working illegally and I don't want to run the risk of my hagwon finding out so we've gotta wrap things up.

The response, the k-boss says that if he stops working for him, he will report my friend to immigration and get him deported (I would imagine so he can't compete against him in the future-not really clear on all the details). Apparently, the k-boss is willing and able to pay whatever b.s. fines are involved (he's claiming the bank transfers into his account are proof that he was working illegally) and my friend seems to be in a no-win situation. I suggested just doing a midnight, but he apparently wants to stay in the land of the morning backstab. The funny thing is, after issuing this blackmail threat, they are supposed to be back to a nice, friendly relationship!

The first few mantras that come to mind are:
NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER work without a visa
NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER trust a k-boss in anything resembling a shady situation
NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER believe a k-boss about any kind of business deal without being able to verify it

I told him maybe he should just go to immigration himself to try to sort it out, but a big part of me thinks he could really end up screwing himself that way. I also told him I'd post this for him since I didn't think it would be good to post it himself, who knows who knows who he is.


Any ideas?

And of course, any similiar stories you'd like to share (names of companies not included of course) MIGHT one day help someone listened in advance to the little voice in their head that tells them that a situation is not entirely legit.

[VirginIslander]

For a million won I will wait outside the Korean man's house on a dark night and.......

[TheUrbanMyth]

Tell your friend to start doing a really crappy job...come in late, sit with his feet up on the desk...tell the k-boss if he wants him (the friend) to work for him (the boss), the boss will just have to lump it.

[plokiju]

Sounds like an empty threat. He can't burn your friend without burning himself and I doubt your friend is so irreplaceable that he would bother going through all the trouble to report him. Intimidation is all it really seems like to me.

[wylies99]

[alabamaman]

Empty threats from employers are priceless.

[Saxiif]

Agreed, completely empty threat.

[wylies99]

[Saxiif]

[wylies99]

[heeckan]

[poet13]

Turn himself in? NO WAY! Get legal, and then he has a leg to stand on.
I think your friend should do a tourist visa run. I think when he comes back he should not associate with the k-guy, but find a legal position and do a work visa run. If the k-guy turns him in while hes on a tourist visa I can't imagine immigration would have any interest in him. As far as bank accounts are concerned, if it's a K-bank, your friend should clean out his account, or better yet, close it. If it's an overseas account, I don't think the k-gov has access.
Those are just my thoughts, not based on any legal knowledge.

[Saxiif]

[ceres]

I thought I read in some other thread that it is pretty much the official stance right now that if you are currently working legally, they won't bother about prior offences of working illegally discovered after the fact.