Korean Job Discussion Forums

[son of coco]

Hi everyone,

I'm sure I've seen this commented on before, but I've been searching and haven't found the answer I'm looking for (a limited no. of available searches doesn't help).

I had an interview with a hagwon the other day and they mentioned that the taxable rate is 3.3% and they use a private medical insurance. I remember this being an issue with some contracts (taxable rate being too high and private insurance a no no) I've seen reviewed here in the past.

Am I right in firstly saying that 3.3% is a contractor's tax rate? And what is the issue with private insurance over government? Is it the coverage provided or is there something else at stake?

[ontheway]

[Chambertin]

Don�t F'Arround.

Go for full government benefits and tax plans. Sure there is the odd chance that you will get paid more if you "independent" but let�s face it these clauses aren�t set up to benefit mr/ ms. teacher.

Unless you have a school that is ok with you tutoring a number of kids independently after school hours and you will ditch Korea after two years of going the Hagwon - Independent tutor never to work there again go for the full standard government package.

Taxes, Medical, Pension, everything.
The mediocre difference isn�t worth it, the amount you pay in is easily to get back, and if you do need medical care you are better off with the standard policy than trying to weed through the clauses and red tape in a foreign language.

Private insurance is a scam. There is a good reason why AIG and Aflac put so much money into commercials. The few people who really benifit from their insurance wouldnt fill a school gym,

[youtuber]

If they provide national health insurance with the private plan as an addition, that sounds like gold to me.

The government health insurance plan is very inadequate on its own and most koreans have the national plan plus a private top-up. For a long-term stay, a private insurance top-up is a necessity. It is not a scam if it is provided with the national plan.

[son of coco]

Thanks for the replies guys. I knew there were some good reasons to steer towards the govt package as it's mentioned often in the contracts thread.

The job actually seems reasonable apart from these couple of things, so I'll talk to my recruiter about it tomorrow morning. She's already talked him up to 2.3 from 2.1 and made sure other stuff was in the contract so she goes alright! haha

[wackakapow]

I've found a good way to get recruiters to disappear into thin air is to bring up the tax and medical business.