Korean Job Discussion Forums

some waygug-in · Joined: 25 Jan 2003

Check out EFL Law, you can find it on there. Here is the link for you:

http://www.efl-law.com/contracts.html

Grotto is right. I wish I had listened to Grotto way back when.

Article (i) of the deceptive practices section.

http://www.efl-law.com/deceptive_practices.html#18

Homer · Guest

Grotto,

I was not defending the guys boss...please be more careful in your responses to my posts... Rolling Eyes

You assume far too much.

I was merely comparing the demand for a deposit here to that of a landlord backhome.

The deposit is illegal, I am aware of this. However I can see the sense and reason why some school owners would ask for such a deposit.
Now, Grotto, just to be safe: I am just discussing the issue. I am not defending Korea, Koreans, Kimchi, or the hakwon owner.You are smarter then this Grotto, please take the time to read and then use that brain of yours before responding with some knee-jerk response and calling me an apologist.

Anyway, the deposit is illegal, hence the guy should go to the labour board. However, I completely understand why some schools feel the need to ask for a security deposit. Having been here a few years, I have seen teachers get screwed by owners many times but just as many cases of teaching leaving at the end of their contracts and leaving heaps of unpaid bills.

This problem is two sided. This particular case (the OP's) is a teacher who has the right to defend his legal rights. I have no complaints about this.

Get it now Grotto?

nrvs · Joined: 30 Jun 2004 Location: standing upright on a curve

W600,000 deposits for utility bills are one thing, but the maintenance fees are nothing to quibble over.

I pay W30,000 every month for my villa and it's more than worth it. Maybe my building is out of the ordinary, but the ajeoshi security guard/maintenance man is hardworking and I feel good knowing he's around every day.

Good story:

The main drain in my villa clogged. Since I live on the ground floor, this is a big problem. I alerted the ajeoshi, who was industriously sweeping the concrete path around the building. At the time, my Korean wasn't so good so I was like "hwajangsil...uh...DDONG!" and made the appropriate gestures indicating it was coming from the drain. He made the "aissh" noise and came to inspect the situation in my bathroom and laundry room. After a few more minutes of aissh-ing and aigo-ing, he was knee-deep in sewage, wearing waders, forcefully unclogging the sewer with a 10 foot long 2x4. The sewer gas fumes were intense, and he made me stand above the manhole in case he passed out. At this point, I realized that my W30,000/mo was well spent.

pegpig · Joined: 10 May 2005

To clarify, the op's contract didn't mention a deposit, so he should not be paying a deposit. That's pretty straight forward.

To begin with I am not defending hogwan owners in general. I would say most are shite. And, I probably wouldn't sign a contract now with a deposit clause in it. But, if everything else about the place was good and I had talked to teachers past and present w/o any alarms, why not?

The disclaimer from EFL Law that I keep getting as proof of the illegality of deposits bothers me though.

Wangja · Joined: 17 May 2004 Location: Seoul, Yongsan

Tipping my toe into murky waters I hazard a guess that the deposit per se is not illegal but the act of deducting it from the pay cheque is.

Grotto · Joined: 21 Mar 2004

exactly Wangja
the deposit in itself is not illegal. Deducting it from your wages is!

basically if they want a deposit they have to get it from you before you start work. Once you start they cannot deduct it from your cheque

good clarification

Milwaukiedave · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Location: Goseong

I am trying to handle it with some degree of tact at this point. I talked to the director and he said he didn't understand that both the maintence fee and the deposits were an issue with me.

I explain to him in a diplomatic way, that if he was unable to reverse the deposits I would have to go to the Labor board. At this point, I'm giving him until the end of next week to fix the problem.

A non-related issue that I want to address in this thread, is the attacks several people have made on each other. There is no reasonl for people to verbally slap each other around. I appreciate any help people have given to solve the problem I posted about.