Korean Job Discussion Forums

[igotthisguitar]

>. Annyong Haseyo

What pray tell is the exact procedure for procuring a formal release letter ??? For any of you who've been following my story, i'm in the process of negotiating with my Director over the terms of ( after 10 months ) the swift, entirely unexpected & out of the blue "termination" of my contract.

Q1 - Need the terms which we've ultimately agreed upon ( i.e. housing, severance, final month's salary, & travel ) all clearly be written out & included in English, dated & signed by both parties ???

Q2 - What will in the final analysis make this letter "legally" binding under Korean law ???

Q3 - Is there anything else which i may here have overlooked that it is essential be addressed ???

Any constructive feedback will of course be hugely appreciated,

JC.

[paul]

Money talks in this situation my friend.

I went through the "release" ordeal with my first school last year, and it's no picnic. So get ready to play hardball, but in a diplomatic way.

Here's what I did: Offer to give your employer at least half of your airfare for the travel to Korea. Failing that, tell him you'll reimburse him for your visa flight to Japan. Then tell him you will pay rent on your apartment for the next three months and take care of all bills. He'll probably settle for one month's rent, but remember you are being diplomatic. Be firm here.

You should also formally resign by writing a letter of resignation and e-mailing it to him, and also personally handing it to him in front of another teacher. The reason for this is, he probably has not told immigration of his intention to fire you or that you are leaving the school. This way you beat him to the punch as far as formalities are concerned. If you give a 30-day notice, then legally and morally he will be more inclined to give you your release. You can take your resignation to the immigration office if he still refuses release, and they may sympathize.

By all means don't back down. Constantly remind him that you want your release, and casually advise him that you have been consulting immigration on this matter, even if you aren't. Sooner or later he will give you your release just to get rid of you and to avoid legal hassles, which he doesn't have time for.

It worked for me and I even got a good recommendation from the school that released me!