Korean Job Discussion Forums

[KoreaninKorea]

Okay, my boss told me that I need to give him a passport photo of myself. If I don't do it soon, my school might be shutdown. I worked at a hagwon before so I know I must be registered. The only problem is that I have been working at this hagwon for about 6 months. I pretty damn sure I was supposed to be registered before now.

What does this mean for taxes and my pension? Has my hagwon owner been paying into these? He has been taking money out for these. Will I get into trouble for my boss cheating me? God, I love Korea...

[Big Mac]

Why don't you call the National Tax Service and the National Pension Corporation and ask them if your boss has been paying?

National Tax Service foreigner hotline: 02-397-1440

National Pension Corporation: 02-1355

[cruisemonkey]

[ontheway]

If you are a foreign resident of Korea, such as an E2 visa English teacher, you have 3 months from your date of arrival to register with Immigration and get your ARC (alien registration card).

As an E2 teacher, your school has 10 business days from your first day of teaching to register you with the local education office. They need copies of your ARC, passport page, and sometimes copies of your diploma and or transcripts. The exact requirements vary from office to office and city to city.

Your boss should be paying your pension and national health insurance. He cannot register you for either of these without your ARC. He will need copies of the ARC and sometimes your passport to register you.

If you have been registered for the National Health Insurance, you should have a small booklet in a plastic case with your name and number. The rate is fixed based upon your reported monthly salary. Your employer is billed and should be paying monthly. (Although have been some cases of being on a 3 month prepaid NIH plan, I'm not sure if any teachers are using this any more.)

If you have been registered with the Pension office, your employer should be billed monthly after each month of employment. He should be paying a flat amount each month. The amount is fixed based on your reported monthly salary and does not vary even if you earn OT in some months. The total amount is approximately (not exactly) 9% and you should each pay exactly half. There is a slight time delay between your month of pay and the payment due date, but the amount in your account should be no more than 2 months behind your last pay date.

Your income tax withholding is harder to verify since your employer may only have to legally pay the money to the tax office either once or twice per year. They withhold the small amount each month, around 2% for most E2 English teachers (it's progressive, 0 - 36%), but the tax office does not want and will not accept small monthly payments. So, the tax office may not have heard of you even if your employer is doing everything legally and properly.

[Kikomom]