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KoreaninKorea
Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Location: Incheon
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 Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 4:52 pm Post subject: Where to get a good lawyer? |
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| I worked for Pagoda Jr. and finished my contract. The hagwon owner didn't pay my last paycheck or my bonus pay. I need someone who can help me and not cost too much. I wrote a letter to the labor board but got no reponse. I can't go there becaues I'm living outside Korea. I need help. Please pm me if you know of someone. Thanks. |
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cdninkorea
Joined: 27 Jan 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 4:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Your best bet would be to call the Labor Board- that way they can't not reply. Barring that, contact your embassy/consulate in Korea and ask for a list of English-speaking lawyers. |
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CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
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| Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 8:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Instead of tossing money at a lawyer to talk to the Labor Board for you, what you can do is go to the closest Korean Embassy or Consulate and exectue an affidavit appointing someone you know in Korea to appear on your behalf at all Labor Board hearings. |
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balzor
Joined: 14 Feb 2009
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| Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 9:07 pm Post subject: Re: Where to get a good lawyer? |
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| KoreaninKorea wrote: |
| I worked for Pagoda Jr. and finished my contract. The hagwon owner didn't pay my last paycheck or my bonus pay. I need someone who can help me and not cost too much. I wrote a letter to the labor board but got no reponse. I can't go there becaues I'm living outside Korea. I need help. Please pm me if you know of someone. Thanks. |
what did the hagwon owner tell you? we are missing some info here. why did he not pay you? What was his excuse? |
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Trevor
Joined: 16 Nov 2005
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| Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 9:19 pm Post subject: I need Fingerprints in Seoul |
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Juregen
Joined: 30 May 2006
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| Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 3:44 am Post subject: |
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| cdninkorea wrote: |
| Your best bet would be to call the Labor Board- that way they can't not reply. Barring that, contact your embassy/consulate in Korea and ask for a list of English-speaking lawyers. |
He can also call the Ministry of Education and lay down a complaint, but he will have to do it in Korean. |
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KoreaninKorea
Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Location: Incheon
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| Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 5:31 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Instead of tossing money at a lawyer to talk to the Labor Board for you, what you can do is go to the closest Korean Embassy or Consulate and exectue an affidavit appointing someone you know in Korea to appear on your behalf at all Labor Board hearings. |
I'm currently in Thailand and I don't think there is a Korean Embassy here. I don't know who I would appoint to speak on my behalf. I would suppose it would require someone who could speak Korean fluently.
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| what did the hagwon owner tell you? we are missing some info here. why did he not pay you? What was his excuse? |
Okay, the truth is he wouldn't follow the contract and the law. He had to pay my pension and refused. I told him several time to pay it or work out a deal with me. He kept saying that he was paying it but I knew he was lying. I finally went to Pension Office and they told me that he didn't pay any money towards it. On top of that, he reported that I get paid 1/3 less and I started working for him 5 months later than I did. I told him to fix the problem. He instead told the Pension Office that we worked it out without talking to me. I then had to go back and tell them that I didn't work it out with him. So they are forcing him to pay me my pension according to my contract and the law.
He told me that I was his favorite employee. I came to work everyday and never complained if he wanted me to work extra. I worked hard and did all my duties dutifully. I knew I should have left without notice after he was screwing the Korean teacher, but I had a contract with him and didn't want to break it.
So in the end, I tried my best to resolve all my problems with him. I gave him every chance to save face. I let him know every day I was going to the Pension Office so we could work it out together. He refused to work it out properly and feels that I cheated him somehow.
So in the end, he told me that I caused him such a headache that I didn't deserve my last paycheck or my bonus. However, I'm sure pretty sure a headache does not allow him to break our contract and the law.
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| Your best bet would be to call the Labor Board |
I sent an email through their website a week ago. However, I haven't received a response yet.
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| He can also call the Ministry of Education and lay down a complaint, but he will have to do it in Korean. |
I might be able to get a friend to help me with this. Do you know what form I need to fill out. Do I have to do something in Korea or can I do it all in Thailand?
Thanks |
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stevieg4ever
Joined: 11 Feb 2006
Location: London, England
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| Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 5:36 am Post subject: |
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| wonder if Captain Corea has any wise words of cultural relativist wisdom? |
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CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
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| Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 5:37 am Post subject: |
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Korean Embassy
23 Thiam-Ruammit Road
10320
Ratchadapisek
Huay Kwang
Thailand
Phone:
+66-2247-7537
+66-2247-7539
Fax:
+66-2247-7535
Email:
[email protected] |
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hagwonnewbie
Joined: 09 Feb 2007
Location: Asia
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| Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 6:57 am Post subject: |
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When did your contract finish?
Sounds like you burned a few bridges before you left.
Try diplomacy first. The embassy in Thailand won't be interested in your plight. |
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KoreaninKorea
Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Location: Incheon
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| Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 5:19 pm Post subject: |
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| hagwonnewbie wrote: |
When did your contract finish?
Sounds like you burned a few bridges before you left.
Try diplomacy first. The embassy in Thailand won't be interested in your plight. |
I finished my contract about one month ago. I don't know how I burned any bridges. I tried my best to take into account my boss trying to save face. He is just a crook. I remember asking several times about my pension and he kept telling me not to worry about it. About half way through my contract, one of the front desk ladies mistakenly gave me a letter from the Pension Office. It said that he was 3 months late (this is before I knew that he reported a false start date) in paying the pension. I asked him about it and he told me that it was thier mistake and he would fix it right away. I waited until the last month before I went to the Pension Office to sign up for my pension refund. I even told my boss that I was going there twice the week before I went. When I found out that he didn't pay it and he reported a false start date and decrees pay, I asked him to fix it. I didn't even accused him of trying to cheat me. He told me that he would fix it. So I waited a week and went there again and they told me that nothing changed. I showed them my contract and they asked if I wanted them to step in. I told my boss what happened and he told me he would fix it (are you seeing a pattern here). Instead he called the pension office and told them that we worked it out. He didn't even try to make a deal with me. So I had no choice but to have the Pension Office step in. How can you accuse me of burning bridges. I told him everything the Pension Office said. I even told him that I was going there everytime before I went. The only thing I could have done was to let him cheat me out of 2 million won. So instead of cheating me out of 2 million, he cheats me out of over 4 million.
Heck, I didn't even act mean to him over what he did. I just asked him to follow the contract and pay me according to it. I finished my contract and worked the way I'm supposed to. On my last day, Steve Jung (my hagwon boss) left early and didn't even bother to say good-bye. This is what really pissed me off.
I didn't get paid and I found out that a co-worker didn't get paid his last paycheck or his plane ticket. He told me that he won't bother because the lawyer will cost him about the same as his lost pay. I don't want to be like him. I won't let Pagoda Jr. keep stealing from native speakers and getting away with it. |
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stevieg4ever
Joined: 11 Feb 2006
Location: London, England
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| Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 5:50 pm Post subject: |
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Really sorry to hear of your situation. Unfortunately it seems typical of what a lot of people seem to suffer here.
You worked as you were supposed to
You were lied to, cheated and didn't have outstanding monies paid
You followed your contract, something your employer didn't have the courtesy or dignity to do
And now you are on Daves looking for help and assistance and have to suffer the indignity of being told that you 'burned bridges' and probably a whole litany of cultural crap to make you out to be the offender
They even threw in a few classic Korean sucker punches like not saying goodbye on your last day
Be warned, you may be the worse for coming on here in the first place! Nevertheless you have my sympathy (for what it is worth). |
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KoreaninKorea
Joined: 10 Oct 2008
Location: Incheon
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| Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 9:07 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks stevieg4ever. What makes this hard for me is it soured my Korean experince. I traveled and saw much of Korea. I ate all the food they offered. In the end, what I remembered most was that I was cheated out of my money. I hope that this won't be what I think of Korea a few years from now.
If you can't guess from my name, I was adopted when I was young and was really excited to vist the country that I was born. In the end, it seems that most people in Korea are nice but no one gives a crap if a foreigner gets cheated. I say this because the law enforcement reflects this and there are way too many people in a similar situation.
I don't think most of America is like this but I will be more aware of it in the future. As for Korea, I am trying to remember that I had several Korean friends that wouldn't cheat me. I'm trying to remember all of the good times. However, it's hard. |
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Konglishman
Joined: 14 Sep 2007
Location: Nanjing
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| Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 9:57 pm Post subject: |
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| KoreaninKorea wrote: |
Thanks stevieg4ever. What makes this hard for me is it soured my Korean experince. I traveled and saw much of Korea. I ate all the food they offered. In the end, what I remembered most was that I was cheated out of my money. I hope that this won't be what I think of Korea a few years from now.
If you can't guess from my name, I was adopted when I was young and was really excited to vist the country that I was born. In the end, it seems that most people in Korea are nice but no one gives a crap if a foreigner gets cheated. I say this because the law enforcement reflects this and there are way too many people in a similar situation.
I don't think most of America is like this but I will be more aware of it in the future. As for Korea, I am trying to remember that I had several Korean friends that wouldn't cheat me. I'm trying to remember all of the good times. However, it's hard. |
That is tough. I imagine that you had a lot of high expections before coming to Korea. So, this experience must really have you feeling let down.
I would not normally suggest this, but maybe, you should try for another job in Korea. But this time, don't get a job with a hagwon. Perhaps, you should try for a public school position. Just make sure that you really research your options and are able to get a much better job situation the second time around. In this way, you can have a much better experience to make up for the current bitter aftertaste that you have.
Finally, by all means, make sure that you take your old hagwon boss to the Labor Board. |
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dirving
Joined: 19 Nov 2009
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 10:10 pm Post subject: |
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Hoggies and govt. operated schools = same same for many vets. In my case, I've worked at three govt-run schools thus far since 2007. All broke the respective contracts. Lots and lots and lots of money involved as well.
My EPIK co-teachers lied to the education office about my vacation days. This resulted in me being barred from the office and threatened with immediate dismissal from my job if I did not end my Winter Vacation prematurely. The last teacher at my schools got the same raw deal.
Public schools have not been "safe bets" for years. Hell, the embassy warnings about accepting employment from ANY TYPE of school - including the most famous unies- were put up on their web sites in, like, 1997. K.O.R.E.T.T.A. (forerunner to EPIK) lost more than 50 percent of its teachers in the first three months of its existance due to non-payment of salaries and other gross contract violations. I'm no lawyer, eh, but this seems very bad to me. |
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