Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jacl]

Why in the hell would anyone agree to that nonsense?

[Cheonmunka]

It's very dificult to read and understand exactly what's in these posts. Some of the detail is very thin.

I'll take a side track and offer some 'apologetic role' impartial view at first.

These bribes to the principal, they are payment to the principal for his/her extra duties at work dealing with this program. Would you or I take on another role at your hakwon, meaning more hours and overtime, for free?
I would expect some payment, too. I think payments to the pricipal are not the main issue.

"...the school pays the tax on the full amount before the transfering of money even takes place..."
Is this not the same as company tax? A company or school receives income so tax is paid the same as on any transaction. In the West you will receive salaries that have already been taxed and you will pay tax again.
So, no issue there.

Now I will drop the impartial view...

The insidious thing is that the holding account for funds is put in the teacher's name. Then why? Is it because the foreigner is more 'invisible' so harder to trace at audit time? If there is ever any audit. It may work like laundering. I think it is not a good situation for the person who receives millions into a bank account in their name, regardless whether the account is merely a holding account. There will be no documentation listing it as such.

I'm going to call the tax department myself about this. I wonder, you see, if the department is aware of this and how it views these holding accounts in terms of taxation, if they view them at all.

I think the worrying thing about these methods of employment etc make it hard to find documents pertaining to any particular company, ie the recruiter/program organisers so that it can be held accountable under law. If the company is paper thin, with no vivid registration documentation then how will a lawyer (whether for tax or labor) confront them. Who would be accountable if there is no company?

mmm... Just out of interest then, with regards to Win Ed, did you ever view the company documentation when getting the E2 visa done? How about on your contract, was there any particular company name and address etc? Something there that you can pinpoint?

I think the whole thing should be exposed. I think using foreigners' names for holding accounts is not acceptable. It's like when a man hides under a woman's skirt.

The ideas about these programs is good. The programs are competing against the hakwons. And, we know hakwons are also very good at scamming money. Let's not deny that there are shady tricks and hustlers ways, and a rather larger fee collection with any hakwon. The only difference is in legitimacy, as in registration with the Ed Department.

[Cheonmunka]

Talking to Dept of Tax this morning it doesn't seem illegal as such these bank accounts. There's nothing wrong with receiving money.
BUT the teacher will have to prove come tax time that the income does not belong to him/her.
So, how to prove it's not your income would require a complete paper-money chase on the teacher's part and have at hand all documents pertaining to the money and where it went.
Would bosses assist you in doing that? Geepers, in the first place they are probably doing a screw with the money anyway. How could you possibly make accounts for it.

Dear oh dear.

[DallasTexas]

[paperbag princess]

my principle didn't do anything. i wasn't even allowed to use the photocopier at the school, so why was he receiving a kickback?

[DallasTexas]

All I can say is: People that live in a foreign country and allow their personal banking account to be a slush fund involving public education dollars have more nerve than I do.

[canukteacher]

Would you let an employer in your home country operate a bank account in your name? If you answered NO (and I hope you did), then WHY would you do it here? Knowing how Korean's love to evade the tax man I would bet my last Won that this is simply a "beat the tax scam".

Just don't do it!

CT

[DallasTexas]

[Cheonmunka]

I think your reporter friend had better research all of this fullly before comiitting it to ink. There may be an issue. Actually, there may not be.
I have to call another department because legally these bank account things may be above board. Unfortunately today is a government office day off.

[Cheonmunka]

As a follow up:
There is no issue of legality here. Schools cannot pay directly to a program. They can only (by Ed Dept rules) pay to a teacher staff.

(Places like Win Ed should be thankful that you exist so they can earn, and receive, income. Closing the bank account that could only be in your name meant closing their earnings tap. They could not exist without you.)

Anyway, if tax time comes and you need proof that the money is not yours then you need a document, not a weighty one, from the program called a Ȯ�μ���. This is a piece of paper with an explanation saying the payments in that bank account are not yours. Then that paper is merely stamped with the program director's ����.
Further, tax department can check any of your money movements for any accounts held in Korea so if they need to check, they will. They will easily see that you have not received this money. They will easily see who does.
Accordingly, this situation is in character with the system. As it is there is no way you can or will be taxed on five-seven million tuitions plus two million salary. If there is a glitch the real incomes are easily traced.

I guess an area where any problems could develop is if the director refuses to give the report-form for your tax department use. But then, whenever bank accounts are opened in Korea one needs either the citizen ship ID numbers or passport numbers making tracing easy to the point that the tax department has little concerns about all this stuff.

If the program does not let you acquire a report-form then in that case it would be prudent to follow up with the tax department.

[DallasTexas]

[Cheonmunka]

The sources are primary; they were direct calls to:
The National Tax Service
Education Department
Labor Department

I can't quite understand the middle of your post.
When you do contact these departments you should spell everything clearly so there are no information gaps. I can't work out who is the subject in "...They don't ususally pay the salary with cash to make everthing clear, so we deposit the monthly salary to the bank account. I always ask the teachers to let me know the bank account number ..."
Something was made unclear about this situation if this is the result from Seoul Department of Ed...

After all is said and done, and according to the above post I made, if Hankoray does an expose they will be merely exposing the flaws of their own bureaucracy, rather than finding large scale fraud.
These bank accounts seem more of an inconvenience than anything else.

Also, I feel used enough as it is without finding again all contact details that I laboriously found. If the reporters wish to go forth they can at least think about the situation themselves and come to a logical method of locating the sources to be followed. I'm sure to them they will be simple to find... as contact details for all departments are on their websites.

[iluv2fly1]

I have gotten myself into one of these situations. I signed a contract with the hagwon and then another one with the school (wouldn't have done this except that the second one was better than the first) and immigration only has the one from the school. Other people who are in these programs -did you sign 2 contracts or one and if you signed 2, then which one is in immigration? Can I use this fact to argue against things I don't like in the contract with the hagwon?

[TheUrbanMyth]

[jinju]