Korean Job Discussion Forums

nw25th · Joined: 15 Feb 2009 Location: Daejeon

My Contract ends in about 3 weeks.....

I took a job with this last company going in knowing about the pension, "I don't do pension" my boss stated. I figured, okay, the hours are really good, we'll see how the contract goes (if I'm satisfied with the company in the end or not). It wasn't written into my contract, but that doesn't matter, right? It's the law, and I can just go down to NPS and settle this up, correct? I want to settle this after I get my final pay, bonus, ticket $$, etc...this shouldn't be a problem should it?

My second problem is this, the whole year (it was also written in the contract) I've been taxed 5% of my wages. This is 1.7% too high as far as I can tell. Are there any circumstances where this tax rate is legal? I have most pay stubs, I'm just not sure how about trying to get this back. My contract is through a hagwon, yet I'm contracted out to several public schools, but, the hagwon pays me a fixed salary (does this make a difference?).

I've thought that I could just go to my boss after I get all my paid dues (I have a new job), and tell him that I want $XXXX for my pension and $XXXX for the over taxing. That if he doesn't pay, I'll just go to the appropriate offices.

So, what's the best solution to this mess of a mess??

highdials5 · Joined: 13 Oct 2008

nw25th · Joined: 15 Feb 2009 Location: Daejeon

afsjesse · Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Location: Kickin' it in 'Kato town.

Not worth the hassle, let it go. But you could bite you're hagwon back and see if they've been paying you're taxes! Laughing

Otherside · Joined: 06 Sep 2007

I'd say 99% you are completly off the radar. You aren't registered for pension (as your boss says) and he's charging you an abitory tax rate which the boss is just keeping. Do you have medical insurance (my guess is no)

HOWEVER, you knew all this going in. The 12 or so % of your salary that your boss is pocketing, (5% tax, 4.5% pension, 2.5% medical) allows him to give you those good hours. You took the deal, and everybody won.

Now, you want to get what's yours, once you've been paid etc. This payday for you will cost your boss 3.6mill, (based on a salary of 2.5mill) of which you'll get about 1.6mill. While your strategy seems sound, go in, ask for your 1.6mill, (thus saving him 2mill) do you really think it's going to go down like that?

Nobody likes to be blackmailed, and for that kind of money he'll probably fight it tooth and nail. At best, you'll wait a long time for your money, and he'll make a ton of problems for you down the road (assuming you stay in Korea). At worst, he'll make a ton of problems, the process will be time consuming and if you did anything illegal, (which by working for a guy like this, you probably did, unwittingly - like working multiple locations without the right authorisation) he'll do his best to get you deported/fined and make the problem go away. Remember, you were complicit for a year.

In a nutshell, you made a deal with the devil, you got out unscathed, now do you want to pull his tail? It's not really worth the money. If he tries to rip you off on your plane ticket/severence etc, then maybe it's a good card to play.

PS. Unless your next job is outside Korea, and your boss is a *beep*. In which case you could do it just to @#$% with him, and perhaps make some coin Wink

OculisOrbis · Joined: 17 Jul 2006

taxes may not be worth the effort or aggravation, but pension is simple to obtain.

If you have cash saved up, you just have to go to the pension office and get yourself registered for your time at that job. You pay your share of the contributions upfront and then the NPS goes after your employer to pay his share - 4.5% of your salary for the year.

Taxes, you could report or threaten to report, but KTS doesnt seem to care that much about dodgers and most bosses know it. Your best option to get your money that he stole from you as 'taxes' would be to get your papers in order to prove it and file a small claims case against him. He would probably ignore everything else you might do - so after you ask him about it and he plays dumb, save some time and just skip ahead to court.

You can show your boss this site from the KTS that calculates what your monthly tax withholding should be.

Just enter your monthly salary in the box and hit calculate.

The number that is spits out is what your boss should be witholding each month to cover your tax payment. Point your boss to the number that is produced and then watch him scramble to make up reasons why it doesnt apply to you..........tons of fun.

http://www.nts.go.kr/eng/help/help_52.asp?top_code=H001&sub_code=HS05&ssub_code=HSE2