Korean Job Discussion Forums

[EZE]

Today was supposed to be payday and I didn't get paid.

Anyway, on to the bigger story. As some of you already know, I'm in my eighth month, but haven't been enrolled into health insurance or pension. I didn't know I wasn't enrolled until recent hospital tests and visits. My boss said she tried to enroll me into health insurance this week but couldn't because she had been taking 3.3% in taxes out of my pay and paying it to the tax office. She said I'm an independent contractor. She went on to say that the NHIS told her that I could self-enroll, but the tax office won't allow her to enroll me into health insurance through her.

As for my contract, on the first page, there's a block on the left that says EMPLOYER in all caps. In the block on the right, it says EMPLOYEE in all caps. then it says:

"1. Employee's name"

Under my name and passport number it says:

"Hereafter to be referred to as the Employee."

Item 7 in the contract states the following:

MEDICAL INSURANCE AND NATIONAL PENSION

a. half the insurance premium (2.93%) and Half of the National pension (4.5%) are to be paid by the employer, while the other half is to be paid by the teacher.

I'm referred to as an "employee" exactly 25 times in the contract and referred to as an independent contractor exactly zero times.

I went to the NHIS office at Gangnam Station last week and the guy there hooked me up with an English-speaking agent on speakerphone. She wasn't helpful at all and told me to talk with my boss. I'll go to the tax office and pension office in the morning and see what happens.

I doubt the pension office or NHIS will lift a finger to get this resolved, but what are my chances of getting a D10 visa?

[Dodge7]

Welp... You should of handled this earlier in your contract to be honest.

[EZE]

For sake of conversation, would I have been able to obtain a D10 visa in my second month?

[ibeattheborg]

Yes, but only if your employer was happy to let you go and give you the all important letter of release.

[nicwr2002]

Are you planning on staying another year? If you weren't enrolled in the pension plan, you will have to back pay for those 8 months in one lump sum. It happened to me and I had to pay around 600,000 won.

[EZE]

I'm going to the pension office later this morning. I don't know if I'll be here another year. I may even fly out Sunday evening.

[EZE]

Today, my boss said she went to the NHIC office and things are approved, and we'll have to go there together on Monday with my alien card, passport, etc.

She said the coverage will start as of mid-January because I did my visa run in mid-October. She said foreigners can't get coverage for the first three months in Korea because so many crooked foreigners have come to Korea, have received medical care, and then left. I'm very skeptical about this, but I didn't go to the doctor until February anyway, except for a cheap visit to the Inha clinic at the airport after my visa run. The cynical part of me thinks she's trying to get the insurance started as late as possible because she's thinking ahead to the pension office calling and she doesn't want the pension to start until then.

[CentralCali]

Your boss is a liar.