Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ksamsoon]

I'm currently applying to SMOE, which requires an employment verification letter from all my previous schools to determine salary level. One of my previous employers is not providing a verification letter.

I have emailed the director 2 times, and have called them 2 times. All of my requests were ignored and the most recent time I called, the Korean head teacher (who didn't like me for personal reasons, which had NOTHING to do with my teaching) asked my name. When I told her she pretended like she didn't know who I was and said everyone was too busy. I asked when was a good time to call, and I'd like to speak to any Korean teachers or the director. She said she didn't know and hung up on me. She is always around the secretary's desk, so the phone always gets transferred to her.

I am 100% sure this woman is not going to allow me to speak with the director and the director herself will not respond to any of my emails. I am not in Korea at the moment.

What can I do? I was a great teacher, very dedicated, worked overtime, was well liked by the staff and the students, and completed my contract. I even wrote the letter up and said all they have to do is sign it. Is there some law saying they are required to verify my employment? Is there any legal action I can take?

Please help, I'm so frustrated and tired of dealing with this hagwon just for a simple letter saying yes, I worked there.

Thank you so much.

[plchron]

try contacting immigration. They might have your contract on file somewhere. Same with ministry of labor. I do know that they are required to give you it by law, so file a complaint online or something. If you have any friends in korea still, they might be able to act as your proxy.

[Ksamsoon]

plchron,

That's a great idea, thank you for your suggestion and quick response. I finally got in touch with one of the teachers I worked with and he spoke with the director, who told him she will sign the letter. I'm going to ask this co-worker to mail the original, as I can't trust the school.

For others who may have a problem obtaining the employment verification letter from uncooperative hagwons, I did some research and found out hagwons are legally obligated to provide employment verification under Korean labor law. According to the Labor Standards Act 3 Chapter II (3.17 Article 38 Certificate of Employment):

(1) If an employer has been requested by a worker to issue a certificate specifying term of employment, job specification, title and wages or other necessary information even after the retirement of the worker, he shall immediately prepare based upon fact and deliver the certificate.

Source: http://wiki.galbijim.com/Labor_Standards_Act#Article_38_.28Certificate_of_Employment.29

If your hagwon is not complying with the law you can either (1) file a complaint with the labor board http://www.moel.go.kr/english/main.jsp or contact the Seoul Bar Association's Legal Center for Foreign Workers (they only have an English speaking attorney on MONDAYS from 2-5pm Korean Time).

Korean phone number: 02) 3476-8080
If calling from the US: 82+2+3476-8080

Cheers!

[YTMND]

And that just spells the absurdity of all this. A future employer who speaks Korean wants a teacher who probably doesn't speak Korean to talk to a previous employer who speaks Korean in broken English that they will understand so that they can write something up in Korean to verify the teacher worked for them

Why couldn't the new employer, in Korean, contact immigration, who speaks Korean to verify the teacher worked at a previous place? I had something like this happen last year. Immigration needed a release letter, my previous employer was an American, but the school I was going to work for wasn't. What we did was he handed his phone to a front desk worker at his school, and I gave the phone to the school I was going to work at. They straightened it out using one language. Crazy idea.

Why we must juggle between these two languages is beyond me. This should be procedural. I would push the new employer as best you can to contact immigration because they are going to be the most successful considering they speak the same language as immigration.

[some waygug-in]

It's all part of the game; they describe how they will give raises based on experience and at the same time make all kinds of absurd or impossible
demands so that they never have to pay any more than the entry level salary.


enjoy.

[Ksamsoon]

YTMND,

Thanks for your thoughts. This has nothing to do with language. My future employer is unknown since I'm applying for public schools (you don't find out which school you are assigned to until you arrive in Korea). My recruiter speaks English pretty well and the head teacher and director at my previous hagwon both speak English with ease.

The issue was mainly because the head "teacher" personally dislikes me and doesn't me to become employed at another institution. It has nothing to do with language abilities.

I think SMOE requires a letter verifying the length of employment because even though they may have prior employment contracts in the immigration office, some teachers do not fulfill the 12 month contract (I did). Also a lot of people apply for SMOE, so it might be inefficient for immigration if they receive hundreds of phone calls regarding employment verification. It is probably be easier for SMOE & immigration to just receive one packet from an applicant with all the information in one place.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[purplemonkey]

This is a very useful thread. I may be in a similar situation, so I was thinking of hiring an outsourcer on elance or edesk who speaks Korean to sort it out for me. I also like the idea of not personally having to deal with my old school as I left there feeling bitter about how they treated me.

Ultimately though, I doubt they'd fight me on it. Then you have to weigh whether or not you want them contacting your old employer.