Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jondepoer]

Hi folks (and especially Ttompatz, please!),

My friend is having a very typical experience for a new-arrival in Korea. She has taken a job at a hagwon without knowing the red-flags to look out for. It's only been a month, and she has already had pay withheld (completely outside the terms of the contract), all of the Korean staff and most of the foreigners have quit, and she and has been threatened with "deportation" because she had to go to the hospital one morning after becoming violently ill.

I told her, as I'm sure most of you would agree, that she should quit. She has already found another company that wants to hire her, but there's the issue of getting a letter of release, which the current hagwon has (unsurprisingly) refused to provide.

Now, newbies are often told that they have no option but to remain working for their visa sponsor, and put up with what ever nonsense the school feels like pulling. I know that's not true, but I'm not really in a position to advise her.

If she were to quit tomorrow, what repercussions would there be? If she has another school that wants to hire her, how should she proceed? I've heard that the D-10 visa can be used as an alternative to heading to Japan and getting a whole new visa. Or is the visa-run the only alternative, and do you need a LOR to do the visa run?

I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has found themselves in this situation, or from knowledgable people who are up-to-date on this. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. Haters - this is just a public service, and I'm trying to help a person in need.

Thanks!

[r122925]

[alongway]

If she's going to go do a visa run to get a new E2 for the new place, she could try a gamble like this:
She's probably writing off that pay, but she could simply tell the hagwon owner:
If you give me a letter of release, I won't take you to the labour board for the 1 month's pay.
If he gives it to her, she saves herself a visa run, then if I were her, I'd probably turn around and still go to the labour board.

if he doesn't, well she really isn't out anything for trying.

[jfromtheway]

[Mountain Mama]

Her situation is nowhere near as hopeless as the previous posters put it.

Does she get paid into her bank account directly? If so, she has proof that she's not being paid on time. Were the other employees fired without cause? Did the employer with hold pay from any of them? If so, if they've reported the employer then he'll have a record at the labor board.

If your friend files a complaint at the labor board she can ask to transfer to a D10 without the LOR. The labor board does NOT like employers who with hold pay. They don't care if you're foreigner or Korean, but it's best to go with a Korean (or someone fluent in Korean) to help translate for you.

If the boss fires her, he still has to pay her salary for the time she worked. IF he paid her airfare over, it's his loss. If he wants to recuperate that, he's got to take her to court to get it from her. He's not allowed to deduct it from her salary. Even if she quits or runs, he still owes her salary for time worked. If he doesn't pay, she can go to the labor board. It might take 2 or 3 months to force him to pay but they will make him pay. I've quit from places half way through the month. Went to the labor board later and told them i wasn't paid. They ring up the school. Bossman says MM was a bad teacher and left early. Labor board guy says 'too bad. you still have to pay her.' Boss doesn't pay. I go back next month, and then they start putting the pressure on him. In the end, they pay. According to the labor board, if the employer doesn't pay, eventually the money will be taken from their bank account.

Her best plan at the moment is to start getting a new copy her docs, just in case she needs to make a visa run to Japan. Better to have them and not need them than need them and be sitting waiting for them.

She should also start looking around for a cheap goshiwon or youth hostel in town. If she's got friends in town (e.g. if you live in the same town as her) she should leave part of her stuff at a friend's place. It's not unknown for employers to fire someone and then change the locks on the apartment. Before she goes to the labor board, she should definitely not leave any valuables at her place. Sure, it's illegal to lock her out of the apartment or toss her stuff in the garbage, but from what i've heard, it's hard to enforce that law or get compensated if the boss does it. Better safe than sorry. After she goes to the labor board, she should consider keeping a recorder on her (e.g. the one build into her phone maybe) the next time she goes to work. If she can record him threatening her, or firing her on the spot, then she's got a better case for getting the D10. Although he doesn't need to give her notice to fire her, he still needs a good reason. Most schools get away with this by making up a reason, but if she records him saying that she's fired because she went to the labor board, he's screwed himself.

In any case, she shouldn't be working for this guy. It's clear that he's a jerk and he WILL take advantage of her right up until he fires her for some made up reason.

[ontheway]

[Mountain Mama]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[YTMND]

[TheUrbanMyth]

[YTMND]

[Mountain Mama]

[YTMND]

[jondepoer]

Hi Everyone,

All the advice is really appreciated. She called the Pension office today and confirmed that they have never heard of her, as well as her co-workers (some of whom have been there for 10 months). She's going to confront her boss about this, while recording everything.

As for the money issues: She paid her own airfare, and now lives in her own apartment (and paid the key money and rent). The hagwon owner took 120,000 from her first paycheck as a 'security and utilities' amount, deducted pension and medical (and is clearly not submitting it) as well as deducted a 'misc. fee' of about 150,000.

[Troglodyte]