Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jewelz]

My problem is that I am Canadian and I have been deducated 8% tax today on my pay. No details, it is vaguely is classified as provincial etc. My boss became irate when I asked her, b/c my contract states 5%. She said, 5 plus 3 from the school. She said oh you can check it online. I am not paying into pension, health care or anything like that! So please help, any links to the tax office website have never worked... it is unclear to find out how much I should pay. There is other numerous problems coming up. So, I do know now from others that I can leave and get a letter of release. However, she stated I will have one half of my airfare ticket deducted from next cheque and that was new... also she said if I left before the 6 mths. they would deduct all airfare.
SO a)
give her notice on nov. 24 for one month and leave before Christmas
b) pull a runner
c) threaten to report her
I do not like my job and I am looking into public school or uni job.I also havea child which really adds stress to just packing up and leaving!
No overemotional screw them all responses please. Just practical solutions.
Thanks.
Also why don't people just tell everyone to avoid hakwons when coming to Korea. They make up their own bloody rules and make everyone's life hell. It is'nt worth trying to see if it works out, when you can get real job stability in a public or uni situation...











I think people should just announce loud and clear that anybody arriving to Korea , stear clear of hakwons all together. Why bother trying to go throught the hell once you have arrived. You have no working stability or rights cuz they make up all of their own rules in the contract...

[alabamaman]

http://www.nhic.or.kr/wbe/nation/nation033.html

Because of the amendment of the National Health Insurance Act on Jul. 13, 2005, without relation to the type of Status of Stay, all foreign workers and overseas Koreans who work for an workplace in Korea shall automatically be the employee insured since 1 January, 2006. If foreign workers made or will make their employment contract with their employer before 1 January, 2006, they will be the employee insured from 1 January, 2006, and if they will make the employment contract with their employer since 2 January, 2006, they will be the employee insured since the first date of employment.

For the employee insured, the contribution amount shall be calculated by 「monthly salary contribution rate」, currently 4.48% and be deducted from the monthly salary (50% of which is shared by the employer). Irrespective of the actual date of enrollment, the obligation of contribution payment is retroactive up to the date the enrollee was employed.]

Your employer deducts 2.24% from your monthly salary to be paid to the National Health Insurance Corporation.

The sum of 3 month contributions in the amount of ********* Korean Won shall be prepaid every month by the employer to be paid to the National Health Insurance Corporation.


Income Taxes

http://www.nts.go.kr/eng/default.html

*Go to check my monthly withholding tax

1.8 million = 19,960 Korean Won deducted from your monthly salary
1.9 million = 24,470 Korean Won deducted per month
2.0 million = 28,950 Korean Won deducted per month
2.1 million = 33,430 Korean Won deducted per month
2.2 million = 39,800 Korean Won deducted per month

These figures are at 5%

1.8 = 90,000
1.9 = 95,000
2.0 = 100,000
2.1 = 105,000
2.2 = 110,000

Korean Pension Fund

http://www.nps4u.or.kr/eng/enpsk.html?code=./enpsk/a02.html

Your employee deducts 4.5% from your monthly salary to be paid into the Korean Pension Fund.

[babtangee]

Um, you're supposed to check the contract. If they're making up their own rules, reject, reject.

To answer your question... 8% is absurd... unless you're making 4 mil. a month or something equally obscene. Call the tax office. Report, report.

Here's the tax office website:

http://www.nts.go.kr/eng/default.html

Under the subheading Tax Guide you should see

Automatic Calculation Service for Year-end Tax Settlement

click that, it will calculate approximately how much tax you should be paying... nowhere near 8% I'm sure... print it out and tell you boss to chew on it.

[jewelz]

Thanks, but some arbitrary window come sup and says in your salary is over 10 million won then you pay 35% etc.
Do you type 2,000000 in the field ?

[corroonb]

Just type in 2000 without a comma, unless you make 2,000,000,000 per month. Its in thousands if you read the small print, thats what probably got you into trouble in the first place .

Anyway good luck with this, I'm trying to negotiate a contract at the moment and the amount they try to slip by you is disturbing.

I was only joking about the small print thing.

[ttompatz]

Just give the foreigners help line a call.

02-397-1440

Tell them about your complaint. They will look into it for you.

Then call the national pension and health services.

If you do NOT have your ARC yet then pension and health won't be much help.

[jewelz]

Thanks for the assistance. I am going to give notice this week. By the way she treats me she will never live up to it. I am going to tell her I have to book a ticket back home b4 x-mas, b.c all the seats will sell out. I am giving her plenty of notice. I will tell her I am not suited for this job and I do not have any other job to go to. She will then of course take all of the airfare from my next pay. In addition, I will have to call the tax ofice on her when I return in January or when I leave. What do you think ?
I will also call me recruiter to complain, Longbridge Pacific, which is a joke.

The other piece to this is she was deducting 10% for 3 years before I arrived, from these naive teachers. And none of us have been paying into pension, medical, etc.
This is a crime...

[Grotto]

welcome to Korea..of course if you talk to Homer things like this never happen in Korea...its all the fault of the FT....sigh

Take the Biatch to the tax office...labour board and nail her to the wall! dont let her weasel out of it .....unless she offers you 5 mil won over an above what she owes you! The penalties will be in excess of 10 mil!

[spliff]

[Grotto]

so do I so do I

[jewelz]

O.k. Thanks for your info. Today I resigned. I started crying again so that worked in my favour. She will try to get someone within the month so I can look for other job. But she said I have to stay until she finds someone. I told her I wanted to go home for Christmas. "Well if it takes 3 months you have to stay." The other screwed thing is she said I have to compensate her for the 1.3 million won she paid an agent to hire me! I have to get another teacher from Canada, or get another job to pay her for the letter of release which is the norm in Korea. I actually told her that part. SO please help... how can she hold me accountable for the 1.3 miilion won. I told her I have also lost money myself: airfare times 2. Thanks god I have left now though, it will only get worse. As it stands now she owes me for those taxes that she has robbed from my pay yesterday 8% =$160 rather then the 26,000 won I should have only paid with a dependent... So I will play her little friggen game right now, but please anyone s.o.s. I will apply for public school and winter camp and uni. jobs. I will email all my Korean friends and Canadian friends here to ask for contacts or help. But please someone tell me she can not gauge all that money from me. Shuld I contact my agent as well??
Thanks... I need a methodical plan of action...

[Captain Corea]

Do not pay for any agent's fee.

Keep a record of all deposits.

You can win this one!!

[BigBuds]

[jewelz]

Hi. Update... Well she called me this a.m. trying to get me to bring my passport and ARC card to work for her to take. I had a heated discussion with her at work, she finally backed down. She was worried I would pull a runner. I said I would'nt tell you I was leaving if I was pulling a runner. Also I would not pull my daughter out of her school with no notice. It seems like being honest has brought more torubles then expected. In addition, my daughter's passport is till with damn immigration in Daegu b/c we were going to get ARC for her. But now I do not need to. I told her I need that back. I also want my original degree back ! "Oh,don't worry I will give to your new employer", etc. She is really incredible.
Good news have interview at good public school with apparent university benefits on Nov.4 in Ansan, start date March. This was through a friend's connection. So I just have to play nice guy with her until I leave, but then she will get. I have to be careful here cuz I am in a risky situation.
Thanks everyone for the help. I am holding on here with my teeth.

[corroonb]

This sounds like a very bad situation for you. You should get your degree back a quickly as possible. You should also contact the labor board and the tax office as Grotto said. She might not have been paying any tax on your behalf and as such the penalties are probably quite severe for her. Either do these things or threaten to do them and see how she reacts. Good luck, I hope it works out for you