Korean Job Discussion Forums

[hallabong]

I just called NHIC although I'm still a little confused. After explaining that I have worked for three years without paying for insurance the woman asked what visa I have and when was the last time I "entered" Korea. After explaining that I have an F2 and that I returned to Korea in June after a week abroad, she said that I can sign up for the health insurance without having to make any back payments. Does that make any sense?

[nachoinkorea]

hallabong,

Ah, I think I know what she is saying. Sorry, I should have clarified this. If you have been in Korea non-stop (haven't left the country) for 3 years...then yeah I think you would probably have to pay the monthly back premiums that had accrued.

However, if your employer does not provide health insurance and you do not apply for it in your own name....then every time you leave the country you have to wait for 3 months from the day you arrived back in Korea before you can apply for health insurance. This might be what she is talking about. So in this case because you arrived back in Korea from June you would only have to pay back premiums that had accrued from the time you last arrived in the country.

Of course, like any other bureaucracy if you call another NHIC office they may tell you something totally different.

[big_fella1]

[ontheway]

[big_fella1]

[ontheway]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[quote="ontheway"]

[big_fella1]

[Unposter]

Bigfella1,

That was an excellent link.

I want to recommend anyone interested in this topic to read his link. There is some interesting information there (albeit indirectly) about the difference between an independent contractor and a regular employee.

And, I think his advice to never sign an independent contractor contract unless you understand and really want this type of work relation is excellent, excellent advise.

Good Luck!

[wooden nickels]

[quote="TheUrbanMyth"]

[Ice Tea]

The irony is my case is that I was considered self-employed when I was on E2, but I magically became an employee once I got F2.

Another aside: I was recently audited by the tax office for underpayment, as consequence of being an independent contractor. They openly admitted my school broke the law, but that they didn't care. That about sums up Korea. The law doesn't matter. It's all about who you are.

[World Traveler]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[quote="wooden nickels"]

[nachoinkorea]

Alright, let's go through this again...

Ontheway is totally right. You guys on here may not want to believe the facts, but they are facts nonetheless. You are dealing with multiple gov. agencies here: Justice (Immigration), Labor, tax authorities, NHIC, NPS, etc. All of them have their own rules and this is what creates loopholes.

Independent contractor status is totally a tax issue, not a labor issue. If you look at it only from a labor POV then yes, it looks fishy. But once you look at it from the tax law POV, then it is legally legit.

Urban Myth is also right. The contract you sign has to be set up in a certain way. Our IC contracts clearly say "project" and there is no confusion that the person is signing an IC contract. This is where a lot of companies get into trouble, poorly written contracts. If the contract is written by competent attorneys and the company follows the law, than being an IC is legal. Again, we ran our contracts by a few different labor lawyers and we use the largest law firm in Korea....all of them said our contracts followed the law and were legit. In 3 years we've never had an issue, so it is entirely possible to sponsor an E-2 visa and be on an E-2 visa and be an IC.

Finally, some of you on here say you've spoken to different gov. agencies and they all said that if you are on an E-2 visa then you cannot be an IC and you must get health insurance and pension payments. I have no doubt you were told that. But again, I'm sorry but I have to disagree with you guys and here's why:

1. "I spoke to multiple gov. agencies and they told me blah blah blah" - that is your 1st problem. Government agencies have no jurisdiction over other agencies, so they have no idea what those agencies' rules are. Ontheway laid it out perfectly. Your visa is issued through one gov. agency...and NHIC and NPS are totally different agencies. Immigration cannot say "This person has a visa, so they must receive X benefits". If you want to find out about being an IC, deal with tax authorities only. Immigration, NHIC, NPS, etc. have absolutely nothing to do with this and anything they tell you is most likely speculation.

2. Again, Korean tax law clearly states that all employees, regardless of how many hours they work, can be declared "regular" employees (in which they receive full benefits and are taxed on a sliding scale) or "irregular" (i.e. independent contractors) employees. This is TAX LAW...it is independent of labor law, immigration, NPS, NHIC, etc. And this law says that any person who is legally employed in South Korea can be classified as an "irregular" employee, in which case they are taxed at 3.3% and are not eligible for NHIC, NPS, severance, etc. Again, as UrbanMyth stated, the contract has to be set up so that it clearly states that this is an IC contract, but as long as it does that then it's legit.

3. Finally, everyone just remember this. We are in Korea, this is a country where stories about how foreign teachers are criminals (regardless of the facts) are pretty prevalent in the news, where so many people have trouble getting something as mundane as an international debit card, and where just a few years ago the gov. made a rule that said no foreigners could open bank accounts in their first 6 months because a few Korean Chinese were scamming people through phone phishing.....do you honestly think that there would be a law that said "If you are on an E-2 visa then you MUST receive full benefits...but for our own people, we reserve the right to classify them as ICs so we don't have to pay them benefits, but for foreigners we want them to have full benefits so they are guaranteed this by law." Think about that, do you really think that law exists? Rest assured, it doesn't. There is no law that says E-2 visa holders must be "regular" employees who get full benefits and NHIC and NPS, etc.

Is this whole IC business a "grey area"? Yes, it might be. But that does not mean that it isn't illegal. Maybe someday the courts will decide that being an IC on an E-2 visa is illegal. But until then it is legal.

You guys can think that Oneway and I are hagwon owners or whatever (I don't know about him, buy I know I'm not), and that we are writing this stuff because we have a vested interest in keeping ICs. I'm writing this to lay out the facts because the information on this board is usually completely wrong (don't get me started on the threads about CBCs and apostilles....) and the OP asked someone to clear up this issue. So Ontheway and I responded with the facts.

Everyone enjoy your Chu-seok!

[/quote]

[hogwonguy1979]

1 name should sum up everything that is wrong about a foreigner being an independent contractor as a foreigner in Korea



































































Bill Kapoun...look it up