Korean Job Discussion Forums

Sympathy for Mr Vengeance · Joined: 17 Mar 2009

Ok as I wrote in another thread and as some of you know I had some problems (such as not getting all of my money) when I was leaving Korea and finishing a job there. I wanted to ask specifically about pension. Now I have heard in the past smaller places were exempt from paying it but now this rule has changed and everyone has to pay it? Is that true? The place I was working had me, 2 Korean women, a bus driver, the principal, and the owner. So 4 or arguably 5 employees. The owner was in a relationship with the principal but was basically her boss. Anyway they only ever took out 3.3% from my check, and that's it. I assumed that was going to the government, but they may have just kept it, who knows. I have been told that the lack of pension is a good bargaining tool and I am trying to get more information about it. I don't really have any first hand experience with the pension so if someone could spell out how it is *supposed* to work and whether or not smaller places are exempt that would be great. Thanks. One more thing, is it inherently tied to health insurance? Does anyone know? What I mean is, yes I never had health insurance but I never proactively asked for it. I basically just ended up accepting no insurance and saving some money etc. Should they have still been paying the pension regardless?

Well, I am trying to move ahead w/ bargaining this week. I want my remaining severance money and want to know exactly how I can proceed, knowing that they didn't pay some of the other stuff too. Thanks.

OculisOrbis · Joined: 17 Jul 2006

Ontheway, you can go first......everyone else can correct you later............

ontheway · Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2010 9:34 am Post subject: Re: no pension...

Sympathy for Mr Vengeance · Joined: 17 Mar 2009

OculisOrbis · Joined: 17 Jul 2006

OK, so there isnt even case that you even COULD be considered an indendent contractor (which you werent, anyway as an E2) and you were taxed too much (but you can be pretty sure your employer pocketed the extra tax that he took).

You'll have to contact the pension office to get the pension thing sorted out and the tax office to get the tax thing sorted. Don't worry about health for now because it will just end up costing you money. If you do go after pension, you could end up paying a years worth of health premiums the next time you start working in korea (they may make you pay back premiums for your first year before you can be enrolled for your second), but its only about half of what you will get back from pension alone.

Dont bother talking to your former employer, they already cheated you and everyone else and will likely not come clean now with your cash, especially since you arent even in korea right now and they still owe you 1.3 mil, not including tax or pension - besides that, they need a slap so do everything through the respective offices and they will get fined in addition to you getting your cash.

Hoepfully, youre planning on returning to korea soon because it is a lot easier to do these things from here. Don't worry too much about timing because you have up to three years to make a claim with the respective offices, but the sooner the better because many hagwons dont even last three years in business (at least under the same name/owner on paper). Gather all your paper work - contracts, pay statements, bank records, etc. because you will need them to prove your employer is a cheat.

If youre not returning, you can check the tax and pension websites on how to contact them and get things rolling (same places to contact after/if you return to korea). Arbitrators and lawyers will just end up costing a lot of money, this is something you can do yourself by contacting these respective offices.

http://www.nps.or.kr/jsppage/english/main.jsp
http://www.nts.go.kr/eng/

PS ontheway, where's that corrected statement that you claimed I misquoted (you know, the 1-2 percent of employers and pension thing) and your original source for that stat?

Nester Noodlemon · Joined: 16 Jan 2009

Contact the Pension Office. Odds are, you will get your money.

If someone on this board claims that you can be signed up as an independent contractor, although sponsored as an E2 and working at a hogwon, and not enrolled into pension, DON'T believe it. You are an employee.

You are entitled to be enrolled in Pension, the Pension Law books state this.

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

"This Employment Contract (hereinafter this �contract�) is made by and entered into between [name of the] School (hereinafter �Employer�), and the Native English Teacher, (Name) ________________________ (hereinafter �Employee�).

Says you are NOT a contractor.

Contact the pension office and start making a fuss.

You will have to pay your contribution first...

then they will go after the employer for their contributions.
when you are done that you can tackle the NHIC medical and after that hit them for tax irregularities.

If you are going to pee in their cornflakes you might as well go all the way cause you are gonna get fired over it anyway.

.

curlyhoward · Joined: 03 Dec 2008

Sympathy for Mr Vengeance · Joined: 17 Mar 2009

OculisOrbis · Joined: 17 Jul 2006

Sympathy for Mr Vengeance · Joined: 17 Mar 2009

Yeah. That was the plane ticket that was bought for me though. I felt I had to take it. Plus they were ambiguous w/ some of my remaining vacation days at the end (they didn't let me take some vacation and said they would just attach it at the end). If I didn't I would probably still be there, done w/ the job, in some kind of post-job limbo state fighting for my severance and plane ticket, as well as the pension and taxes meanwhile burning through money, w/ no apartment, etc. It just seemed like a mess.

So at least now I'm living the good life in America, got and used the plane ticket, got half the severance, should be able to get the pension and excessive tax money, etc. May even be able to bargain w/ them directly and/or through my recruiter which is what I had been doing.

Just to clarify is there a difference between staying in Korea 365 days and working for a 365 day period? Because I wouldn't have been working the last 4 days anyway most likely if I had stayed. They had some scheme where they didn't allow me some vacation during the year and said it would come at the end, mostly because I was the only foreigner and they didn't like me taking vacation I think. There was also the concept that my contract/ARC/apartment lease all ended on different days (which I explained in another thread) during my last week basically and they were too dumb to handle that properly (provide additional lodging if need be etc, which seemed to be part of their plan for forcing me to take vacation at the end and not using it during the year, as well as they just simply didn't want me to go on vacation apparently).

So I can bargain and I can go forth w/ the pension office and tax office, etc...

OculisOrbis · Joined: 17 Jul 2006

Sympathy for Mr Vengeance · Joined: 17 Mar 2009

Ok thanks. Well what I meant was hypothetically even if I was there 365 days I only would have been in a 361 day work period, same as now. They felt that because my apartment lease, contract, ARC, etc were not all lining up on the same day, plus I had unused vacation days that they never let me take, that I should be there for a 361 days. I think it's just coincidence that that isn't the most beneficial for me. I think at the time they were just trying to tidy up those inconsistencies by having me finish a little early, instead of pay for another place for me to stay a couple days, while I was on vacation time, etc. Basically their poor planning and stupidity.

Anyway. So now I have contacted the pension office. The lady was pretty helpful. I apparently have no pension file on record whatsoever. She was able to match my name to my old ID number but that's it. So they obviously didn't pay a single won of that all year. I called the regional office though and they don't seem to speak English so well. I think they confirmed my lack of file. So I understand the regional office should be able to forcibly get the pension and probably fine the school. Trouble is, my Korean is limited, as was their English, so it was hard to relay the details of the situation.

I've calculated it out and it looks like my annual pension should have been 2,484,000 won, half of which would have been my contribution. It is my understand that the pension is 4.5% each for both employer and employee. So they were either under the impression that because we were a smaller school they didn't have to pay (even though the law has been changed to incorporate almost everyone since 1999) or they just simply didn't pay. So that divided by 2 is 1,242,000 which should be their contribution.

So my current problem is, it's been hard to explain the details to the regional office even though the website seemed to list it as foreigner oriented or something or at least able to handle that. Hmm...

Sympathy for Mr Vengeance · Joined: 17 Mar 2009

And can anyone answer this. Is it a crime to NOT report a crime? I.e. if I negotiate w/ my old employer and say I won't go to the pension office if they simply Western Union me the money or something? That's not blackmail because I'm only asking for money they owe me anyway. I would be failing to report their criminal neglect to pay pension at that point though...

OculisOrbis · Joined: 17 Jul 2006

It would be fine for you to accept cash as a settlementon your severance issue. You could also do it for pension and not worry about penalties - it's your employer that will still be on the hook if those government offices track him down.

But more importantly, if you do accept cash, the sleaze-bag employer will just continue doing what he did to you to future teachers. A multi-million won fine plus the money that was to go to you in first place will likely make him think twice about doing it again. Turn the bastard in and let the authorities sort it out.

You have plenty of time to make your pension/tax claim (up to three years). Focus on putting pressure to get your severance until that has been exhausted, then go for the pension/tax. Your employer will not even consider comprising on severance if they know/suspect that youre going to be ratting them out to the government.