Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Chris.Quigley]

Is there a different visa when you are the director of a hawgwon in Korea?

I wouldn't be teaching any classes (well maybe a few to start), just managing the branch (accounting, HR, etc). A friend of mine is starting the company and wants me to help him manage it because of my experience in business and accounting background. Also, I am going to do the recruiting... mainly because recruiters are useless and putting the quality of your most important asset (your teachers) in the hands of a recruiter who doesn't care is stupid.

I am guessing that his company would just bring me over on an E2 claiming that I was a teacher when in fact I am not?

Anyone know anything about this?

Also, does anyone know the legalities of me perhaps owning part of the company? I think my friend has some good ideas... I am willing to put in the cash... But, I don't know if it's even possible for foreigners to own part of a company in Korea. I haven't talked to him about it yet... but I would like to know before I do.

Thanks to anyone who has experience with this kind of stuff.

[Chris.Quigley]

I have been reading through http://www.investkorea.org/
not sure if the information they have there applies to me...

[Juregen]

If you are the investor : D-8

If not, you need a "consulting" visa.

Under the assumption you do not have an f-visa

[ttompatz]

[r122925]

To expand a little bit on what has already been said...

To qualify for a D8 investor visa you have to invest a minimum of 100 million won.

For the E7... sorry to say but you have virtually no chance. Smaller/upstart business are scrutinized much more by immigration for this type of visa, while larger well established companies can often sponsor anyone they want. Part of the process involves proving to immigration that they can't find a Korean that is qualified for the job. In your case that's not going to be easy. From immigration's point of view they need someone with management experience who speaks English.... and that's certainly not impossible to find.

For the E2... technically not legal if you're not teaching, but they likely won't ask any questions considering that it's a hagwon. Change your title to something like "head teacher" instead of "manager" and teach a few classes every week and it may even be totally legit.

[Chris.Quigley]

Thanks for the replies. I don't have 100 million so I won't be able to do that. I guess I will be the head teacher!

Does anyone know if profit sharing is legally allowed in employment contracts?