Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kavanluc]

Hello.


I recently had a family tragedy and had to leave Korea on very short notice. I have an F6 visa and am two months into a 12 month contract. Not knowing how long I might be gone, I told my boss he should just replace me. To be honest, I'm not even sure I'll come back to Korea at all. I told this to my boss.

Anyway, my boss graciously offered condolences on my loss before immediately threatening legal action. Specifically, he said he would bring "action for damages" as this could have a big impact on his company. He also claimed I would not be able to work in Korea again.

Is it possible for my boss to essentially sue me while I am out of the country for leaving a job early on an F6 visa? Even though I may not be back any time soon, my wife is Korean so there is a likelihood that we could return at some point in the future. Could I potentially face repercussions years down the road for this?


Thanks

[nicwr2002]

Haha, you have nothing to worry about. You have the right to quit working without notice giving notice.

You will be able to work again since you have a F visa. Your boss thinks that you have a E2 visa. What about your wife/husband?

[kavanluc]

She's with me. Fortunately we sorted out her visa stuff after we got married, knowing that eventually we'd end up in the USA--we just never expected it to be this soon.

I wasn't really concerned about the 'not working in korea again' part of his threat. To be honest I don't really plan to. But I was a bit worried he could sue me, and since I'm out of the country, he could potentially do so without me being able to defend myself. Thus, even though he may be in a tough position to win any damages, I'm in an even tougher position to defend myself.

[nicwr2002]

[ttompatz]

[kavanluc]

I thought as much. Unfortunately this guy has been harassing me and my wife and has put the fear of god into her, since she's Korean and all she takes these threats seriously.

[kavanluc]

fds

[kavanluc]

And before anyone states the obvious, yes, I'm an idiot for not keeping better records / signing errant and partially blank contracts / agreeing to work with a company that clearly has no regard for the law. I just loved the hours and the pay and until this debacle, it was by far the best job I've ever had in Korea. Sue me.

[CentralCali]

Few things for you to ponder:

1. As ttompatz mentioned, labor law gives you the right to quit your job without notice
   
2. Any punitive clauses in your contract (such as you must pay a fine to the director for some action/inaction) are illegal.
   
3. So what if he sues you? If you're out of the country and never coming back, you have nothing to worry about. He has no basis--and no money, of course--to be suing you in your home country.
   
4. Signing a blank/partially-blank contract is right down there with signing a blank check. Hope you learned from this experience to never again do that.
   
5. About the boss threatening you with you never working in Korea again: tell him 지옥 가라. He's not Immigration and, if he makes a false statement to them about you, you can have the Prosecutor's Office on his tush as that's a criminal offense, not some minor contract dispute.
   
6. That contract sucks donkey...well, you know. First off, it's not that clear what your actual salary is as it says the salary includes any bonus. So, that's a nifty way for the boss to all of a sudden decide that you don't get a bonus and you're surprised by the ridiculously low salary.
   
7. 2nd Friday after the end of the month for the payday? There's absolutely no excuse for that. Well, there is one: that means this boss has screwed other instructors over to the point they bailed also.
   
8. 3 days vacation in summer ad 3 days vacation in winter? Seriously, man; were you high when you signed that thing?
   
9. That bit about dismissing you from employment with one week notice is illegal. By law, he must give you 30 days notice or 30 days pay in lieu.
   
10. Only two pages of your scanned contract showed up for me when I checked the links. I've already commented on that. If he's playing the IC game with you, then there's not much you can do as the Labor Board will consider you to be your boss. The only way to fix that is to have a court declare that you are, in fact, an employee. What I saw of your contract shows that you are, in fact, an employee. Good luck on getting that done while you're not in Korea.
    
11. You can check with the tax office to see if you're listed there as an independent contractor. As you only worked for this particular clown for two months, I wouldn't worry about it. Also, since you're not an E-2 visa, the boss does not own your visa. He's SOL with all of his threats.
    
12. Oh, almost forgot. No doubt, the boss did not take your NPS contributions either. He may have taken them from you, but you do not know if he turned them and his matching payments to NPS. The only way to find out is to check with the NPS office serving the area where the school is located.
    
13. Both you and the boss will benefit from the statutes of limitations applying to whichever issue is at play. If he sues you and somehow wins, there is a limit on how long the dunning order can last. If you do get yourself declared (by a court) as an employee and then go to Labor Board and ultimately a court, again, there is a limit on how long the dunning order can last.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record: DON'T SIGN IC CONTRACTS!

[ttompatz]

[kavanluc]

[Bongotruck]

I suggest leaving one day after your next payday. Any amount earned between payday and your leaving day will likely be unrecoverable.

[kavanluc]

I'm already gone. Actually this all went down immediately after I got paid, so that was fortunate.


I'm just worried that he's going to bring a suit against me while I'm out of Korea that I can't defend. To be honest, I have no intention of going back to Korea any time soon. Grad school, live abroad elsewhere, etc. But my wife is Korean, so there's a possibility we might go back, say, after we have kids or something. I'd hate to come back to some huge fine.

[schwa]

I suggest you edit out the company's name above in this thread. Accusing them of illegal activity online might come back to bite you, whether its accurate or not.

[kavanluc]