Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Canadagirl]

There are many problems at my school but the main ones are that my boss refuses to help me get my ARC card, pension, health care and he is overtaxing me (5%). My friend says that he has probably not registered me with immigration and that I might be working illegally. Is there any truth to this and what should I do? Should I quit and leave? Who should I contact? I do have an E2 visa in my passport.

[Son Deureo!]

If you have an E2 visa in your passport, you are working legally. However, you are risking a fine if you don't get your ARC within 60 days of arrival. This is your responsibility, not your boss', so take care of it ASAP if you've been here for longer than 60 days. Take your passport, photos, and fee to your immigration office. Do a search on "alien registration card" for more info. It would be nice if your boss could help you with this, but it's not that hard to do this on your own.

As for taxes, health insurance and pension, it's very common for the boss to try to get around this. If your boss refuses to get you on the pension and health plans after you ask him nicely, and tell him that you'll be checking his homework, I'd contact the pension office and let them sort him out. Let him know that you'll be contacting the tax office next and follow through if need be.

You are being cheated out of some money, but it is very unlikely that you are in any legal jeopardy because of this.

Quitting your job is the nuclear option, and considering the difficulties that come if your boss doesn't want to give you a release letter (you can't get another job in Korea until your current E2 expires), you need to think very carefully about whether or not this is worth quitting over. If I were you, I'd try to work it out with him first.

[crazylemongirl]

you do need to make sure that you are registered with immigration within 90 days of arrival.

[Yesanman]

If he hasn't helped you get your alien card then he is pondering firing you. Happened to my buddy like that last year. They wait the 90 days and cancel your visa and fire you.
Good luck.

[ttompatz]

[babtangee]

And, if your boss isn't taking you, tell him you are going during classes. This is ridiculous.

And remember to lodge a complaint with immigration about his neglecting to deal with the matter.

[Son Deureo!]

[crazylemongirl]

[Canadagirl]

Thank-you everyone for your help. I will see if I can get to immigration this week. I will have to skip class because I work from 9-6. I have only been at the school 1.5 months and it is my first time in Korea. There are other bad things happening here too. The Korean teacher were not paid in two months and have since almost all quit. There is only one Korean teacher, me and the guy working on a tourist visa (illegal we know, he is leaving this week for a real job). I just want to cover myself because I don't think in a few weeks that there will be a school to come to.

[babtangee]

If she is FOP would you really expect her to do it herself? What if she has no internet access. Who's gonna tell her. Ridiculous.

Why should the boss? Um, because he's her sponsor, it's essential to her continued employment, he invited her here, he speaks Korean, knows what needs and doesn't need to be done (or should). Can she really be expected to know when and what she should do in a country she's never visited? Where is the E2 information brochure where one acquires all these details? I know other nations have very detailed booklets on their visa processes. If her boss doesn't give her the heads up, who will? If her boss isn't worried, why should she be? Err, because immigration will fine her ass. But nobody told her. Too bad, you got a negligent boss. Deal with it. Yeah, great.

ARC card is necessary to work here. If the boss wants her to work, he should make sure she has it. If he just expects her to figure it all out intuitively, okay, she's done that (fortunately she's not dense, and has internet access). But be damned if I'd be taking care of business, catching buses to places I've never been, to get paperwork done my boss needs just as much as I, all on my own time, when my boss can get it taken care of much more efficiently. What's up with that? What if she gets lost? I know I would... or, gee boss, the lines at immigration are unusually loooong aren't they? Like all day long.

[babtangee]

[Son Deureo!]

Of course her boss should tell her about her need for an ARC. For all I know her boss is the one who told her about it. She obviously knew about it before she posted here so that point is irrelevant to this discussion.

Yes, her boss would be smart to take her to Immigration. He would be nice if he brought her to Immigration. I don't know about you, but I have not run into many nice, smart wonjangnims yet, unfortunately.

The OP would be better off if we point her in the direction of how to get her ARC taken care of for herself than if we tell her to force a confrontation with her boss, or try to get her boss in trouble with Immigration (although you and I both know that nothing is likely to come of that anyway) all for the sake of a ride to the Immigration building. Her boss sounds like a real piece of work, and she's already got her hands full making sure she doesn't get screwed out of her tax and pension, plus getting her health insurance to add any additional friction.

Telling her this is a sign that her boss is about to fire her is only encouraging her to panic, and she seems to be nervous enough as it is.

It looks like she will need some time off to do this, but she can do it on her own, and it will ultimately make her life easier if she does it by herself. And it's not like the boss can do it for her, because they need her fingerprints because it's her first ARC.

At any rate, I think a mountain is being made out of a molehll here.

[babtangee]

[Son Deureo!]

Incheon Immigration wanted my fingerprints when I got my first ARC, but that was in 2001. My info might not be current, or that might be just Incheon. Or maybe I was just unlucky.

Who knows? It's Immigration.

[Roch]