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cbclark4
Joined: 20 Aug 2006
Location: Masan
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 Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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I would think that contacting the ACLU would be beneficial, because I am sure they have contact with "like minded" organizations through out the world.
Contacting your Senators and Congressmen, or even other such representatives is also helpful. You would be surprised at the extent of knowledge within the staff of these offices.
I remember once I contacted Marty Meehan for help, I think he was a foreign relation committee member. He wasn't even my congressman, I lived in another state. On of his staff had previously worked at the US embassy in Seoul. Not only was the problem resolved, I got three letters of apology in the mail.
I've never done any media expose type thing before but I can't imagine it would hurt. Maybe copy the Korean Embassy in Washington with anything you will be sending to the US press just as a courtesy.
cbc |
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mack4289
Joined: 06 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 6:04 pm Post subject: |
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| mack4289 wrote: |
I know you've posted this in another forum Ian but it should be here in too.
The article made it into the Korean Herald:
https://www.koreaherald.co.kr/archives/result_contents.asp?id=200705090042&query=mcpherson
Is 'publish and be damned' a wise choice?
"Korea's laws on libel are confusing and open to abuse," one of the lawyer's contacted for this article told The Korea Herald, "they are a weapon that can be used by innocent victims of media abuse, and equally they can be used as a shield to protect the guilty, often allowing them to commit repeat offenses."
And falling foul of these laws is so easy, as American Joe McPherson is finding out.
McPherson, is an English teacher, writer, and a well-known and respected blogger. His blog, "ZenKimchi" has been extensively quoted around the world, and is full of useful and interesting facts about Korea, especially Korean food.
In the words of fellow blogger, Michael Hurt from "Metropolitician," Joe is a good guy. "He's got much love for Korea, as evidenced by his site, his love of Korean food (he has even been interviewed by The New York Times), and has done much to extol the virtues of Korean food to both Westerners who come here as well as to the outside world. He has even been in a book talking about all the great things Korea has to offer."
McPherson certainly doesn't seem to fit what is largely an unfair stereotype image so often portrayed in the local media of an unqualified language-tourist, just here for the money, the parties and the girls. Yet, he is now facing the possibility of a law suit for alleged libel. If a fine of more than 2 million won is imposed, he could also face the prospect of deportation.
"Somehow, if an employer doesn't pay you your wages or severance, or takes money from your paycheck without explaining or having you agree to it, they can pretty much get away with it," McPherson wrote, "even if you win your case (at the Labor Department and civil court) there is little legal framework to force the employer to pay you."
In July 2006 McPherson filed a complaint against his hagwon for failure to pay his end-of-contract severance money.
"In August the Labor Board determined that the hagwon had to pay me everything I was due," McPherson said, "It came to about 6 million won, so we are not talking about a small amount of money here."
But having an official and legal piece of paper saying you are due this money, and then actually getting the money, are two quite different things.
In February 2007 McPherson finally went to civil court, where the judge not only upheld the Labor Board decision, but awarded McPherson a further 2 million won, bringing the total to 8 million won. The hagwon is still refusing to pay, and has lodged an appeal. An end to the process is nowhere in sight.
"Yet if you want to complain about it on the internet, which is often the only venue for us, it's a crime," McPherson told The Korea Herald, "I received notice that the hagwon filed a complaint and I am being investigated by the police for criminal libel."
Brendon Carr, a foreign legal consultant with law firm Hwang Mok Park, had some striking comments on Korea's libel laws. "Unlike the United States, Korea does not exalt free speech as a constitutional right," Carr told The Korea Herald, "however, the Korean Constitution does recognize a right to reputation. In other words, reputation enjoys higher standing under Korean law than free speech. This same idea is common in European countries; America is unique in the degree to which speech is protected. It's possible that Korea is unique in the degree to which reputation is protected."
Essentially, the terms of Article 309 of the Korea Criminal Code say that writing something that can hurt the reputation of another, irregardless of whether or not it is true, can leave the writer/publisher open to prosecution.
"The Art. 309 is basically a club by which the government and business interests muzzle the press." Carr said, "more than 100 criminal complaints are lodged each year against press outlets, and hundreds of cases go to the Communications Ethics Board for non-criminal resolution of disputes. Accordingly, the press here is much more cautious about reporting things where the identities of the wrongdoers may be discovered."
However, the criminal code does include the following exception contained in its Article 310: If the facts published are true and disclosed solely for the public interest, the act of publishing shall not be punishable.
Currently this privilege does not extend to bloggers on the internet.
"Truth is only a defense for the press, not for the general citizenry. And the publisher must prove the disclosure was solely for the public interest," Carr said, "and this is where most of them get punished."
The Korea Herald outlined a couple of possible story scenarios relating to cases such as McPherson's, and 'hagwons from hell."
Carr had these words of caution, "The Art. 310 exception of 'public interest' is much narrower than you think. My own judgment is that there is no public interest served by telling the story of the hagwon from hell."
English teachers, Carr said, "are not 'the public' -- they are a small segment of it. The rest of the public has no interest in being warned about how these hagwons may or may not treat their foreign employees."
The Korea Herald would be forced to disagree. Estimates vary slightly on the number of foreigners working legally as English teachers here in Korea, but each and every one of them comes into contact with thousands of Korean children on a daily or weekly basis.
A teacher who is being victimized or treated unfairly by a hagwon is an unhappy and disgruntled teacher. No matter how professional that teacher may be under normal circumstances, when they are being cheated out of their lawful earnings, when they feel they are being let down by the legal system, then their performance will obviously suffer. A distracted teacher is a poor teacher, and consequently the students will suffer too.
According to some estimates, Korean students spend over 15 trillion won ($16 billion) a year on private English classes. This is based on 11.2 million students spending an average of 1.2 million won a year for classes in hagwons or private English teachers. Korea spent the most on private education in 2006 among the 30-member OECD, accounting for 2.9 percent of GDP.
A Labor Department official recently told The Korea Herald that she saw "so many English teachers" in her office, and said hagwons -- "the bad ones" -- knew how to manipulate the system. "The process takes so long, many English teachers eventually just give up," she said. "The law needs to be changed. Hagwons must be held accountable."
It is, therefore, impossible to consider the case of English teachers in a vacuum, saying they are only a minority segment of "the public." They are a significant minority who come into contact with, as we have just mentioned, more than 11 million students on a daily basis, and are in the front line of a multi-trillion won industry. Consequently, anything that happens to these teachers, especially if it is at the hands of unscrupulous hagwon owners, and if it has the potential to affect the quality of the education they provide, then it should most certainly be of paramount public interest.
Parents certainly have the right to know if the hagwon that has enrolled their children, that is taking their money and promising a quality education, is or has been involved in legal disputes with its teachers. A hagwon that shows little respect for its teachers, and even less respect to orders from the court, is unlikely to show much respect to its students or their parents.
By Chris Gelken
([email protected]) |
Let's not think that because this got in the Korean Herald that we got everything we wanted. It does give us a lot more credibility for doing things like emailing international newspapers and representatives in the USA.
If you want a form letter to send the international press, how about something like this?
These American teachers in Korea who get mentioned in this article (Michael Hurt and Joe McPherson) got sued for libel by their employers even though what they said is true. Why is this a great story for the international press? Because it has two elements of a great story: a clash of cultures at a time when those cultures are about to start interacting a lot more through the US-Korea FTA and a little guy versus the powerful angle, in a system where the odds are stacked heavily in favor of the powerful. There is a long history of foreign teachers being treated poorly here, largely because employers of foreign workers own your visa here and so essentially own you.
And, of course, you would attach the Korean Herald article to that. It would be really helpful if some other teachers who had been mistreated emailed this and volunteered to back up the claim about so many foreigners being mistreated. I don't have any experience with that.
Last edited by mack4289 on Tue May 08, 2007 6:58 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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mack4289
Joined: 06 Dec 2006
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khyber
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Compunction Junction
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| Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 8:00 pm Post subject: |
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If I may be so bold, I would suggest a couple of other things:
1) International pressure is all well and good but perhaps a bit of hometown muscling would be of use. Where ever this guy is living, perhaps a Korean friend (or himself if he speaks Korean well enough) should contact the mayor of his city or some other government OFFICIAL/representative (ideally elected).
That person can/could do one of two things:
a) Pressure this person/talk some sense into them
b) Perhaps (though this is a long shot) they could make this situation and he "foreigners have no legal recourse" message known in legal circles and government bodies. Not only that but maybe they could pressure some kind of change.
There are a lot of good ideas (esp. mack's last "this is a good news story because....") |
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mack4289
Joined: 06 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 9:03 pm Post subject: |
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So the embassy can't do anything to help. They did give me this:
You may want to contact the International Labor Policy Division of the Ministry of Labor (who have English-speaking staff) by telephone at 1350 (from the U.S. dial 011 82 1350). The Ministry of Education can be reached by calling 02 2100-6455 (from the U.S., dial 011 82 2 2100-6455). A list of websites for Korean Central Government Agencies is available at http://english.seoul.go.kr/link/useful/use_01cent_01.htm. A list of attorneys is available on our website at http://korea.usembassy.gov/lawyers_list.html. Contact information for
the Korean National Police Agency is available at
http://www.police.go.kr/eng/index.jsp. |
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mack4289
Joined: 06 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 9:15 pm Post subject: |
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Something interesting from a poster on Pusanweb:
"I had a similar situation as yours, though not to your scale, but was contacted by someone in the Cybercrime division of so-and-so police department. And I sought legal advice and this is what I was told. For anyone to win a lawsuit against you regarding defamation/libel the plaintiff must submit documented evidence that there was a loss of profit directly caused by your statements on the web. This is pretty difficult to do. But she is probably trying to just give you a headache by taking you to court and things that maybe you'll give up on the money she owes you." |
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mack4289
Joined: 06 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 9:29 pm Post subject: |
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Another important email address, courtesy of Joe McPherson from ZenKimchi.
Nori Onishi, the New York Times Asia bureau chief based in Tokyo
[email protected] |
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Ianinilsan
Joined: 05 Dec 2006
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 1:08 am Post subject: |
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| The article printed in the Korea Herald should help draw the attention of other media. |
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mack4289
Joined: 06 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 4:39 am Post subject: |
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| An update: the national news director of the Joong Ang Daily, Lee Moo-young, is going to interview Joe McPherson, one of the teachers from the article. |
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mack4289
Joined: 06 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 10:50 pm Post subject: |
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More important contacts:
The Korean Ministry of Labor: [email protected]
an address somehow tied to both the Ministry of Immigration and Justice: [email protected]
And wow this is a huge mistake on my part: only one the teachers is getting charged (Joe McPherson). I'm embarrassed by being careless like that and I apologize. |
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the foystein
Joined: 23 Apr 2007
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| Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 5:19 am Post subject: |
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| Sorry you got into such a bad employment situation. Sadly, there are bad businesses in every country. In the States if you get into such a situation you would at some point have to get a lawyer to help you collect. It is a mess in any country. As to the problem with you posting the information on the Internet I am confused. You said it was a crime. Is it a crime or a civil matter? I wish you luck. |
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wylies99
Joined: 13 May 2006
Location: I'm one cool cat!
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| Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 6:00 am Post subject: |
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| mack4289- You have gathered some VERY important information here. We need to put our heads together and make sure this crap NEVER happens to another teacher who wins a Labor case. Educating others about what to do in certain legal instances in Korea would be a big help for many people. |
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jajdude
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 9:04 am Post subject: |
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| A side note if I may: "mack4289" is not the one in trouble. If you don't actually read it or know it, why reply? |
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Ianinilsan
Joined: 05 Dec 2006
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 9:29 am Post subject: |
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| The ideas and information are being gathered to help a teacher who deserves our help. |
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mack4289
Joined: 06 Dec 2006
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| Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 12:29 pm Post subject: |
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| It is a criminal matter, I'm sorry for the confusion about that. That's my fault. It's open to interpretation but the hagwan is claiming that Joe committted criminal libel. |
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