Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Qinella]

There are so many posts on this forum asking for information about pulling a runner. Assuming that not every person looking for information about it has made a post, I'm really curious exactly how often this happens. Is it pretty common?

[daz1979]

[metasises]

Does any of this advice change if you are working for a big corporation? I mean since the company is much larger do they have more resources and a further reach to go after 'midnight runners' just curious

[Speakerz]

Of course I would love to quit using the regular process but from the things that I have heard, it appears to be impossible in my situation. I just want to make sure that I have researched all of my options before I make my final decision, so thank you all for the input. I hope my situation is unique, as I wouldn't wish it upon anybody. I just want to ensure that I get what I have earned.

[Wishmaster]

The midnight run is a ruse used by recruiters, haggie owners to try and discourage people from leaving. It is all a hoax. It is a very arduous and expensive process to blacklist someone from a country. You are free to come and go as you please. You can't be forced to "teach" English. Remember, you are the commodity here....

[Matman]

^ I agree with that. I couldn't even bring myself to read all the posts in this thread because I've seen all the nonsense and disinformation before. I worry about how gullible some people teaching in Korea are. I left my job due to non-payment of salary and simply moved to another city. My boss accused me of killing his baby. By this he meant of course his hagwan. I went to the local immigration office to check out what the score really was. I was told by an immigration official (not by some have-a-go expert on an internet forum) that I had two weeks to leave Korea and that I was free to look for a new job in that two weeks (although I would have to get a new visa). I was also free to leave Korea and re-enter on a tourist visa. The immigration official telephoned my old boss (with hindsight I could have avoided this) and I could hear his hysterics - probably telling the immigration official that I had killed his baby judging by the look on his face. But the official couldn't give a shit. The hagwan owner was just some broken small time bankrupt business man. Do you think immigration officials can be persuaded by losers like that? The one who I dealt with certainly wasn't. He was even kind enough to telephone me a few hours later and tell me that I actually had one day less than he had previously said to stay in Korea. The immigration official at the airport was equally helpful, asking me if my job had finished or not. It's important to say yes so that the visa in your passport is properly stamped and it officially comes to an end.

[Homer]

Matman you related your experience...which is a good thing.

However your experience is no more universal than another poster or persons' experience with immigration.

It worked out for you which is fine. It does not work out the same way for everyone.

When you run, if your employer does not cancel your E-2 you cannot get a new work visa until the old one expires. Of course if your employer cancelled it you are good to go.

Just leaving the country will not be sufficient.

If a person breaches their contract and owes a significant amount of money or does something illegal the passeport # can be flagged at immigration. This is no fantasy or fruit of the imagination. It happens.

So while you certainly made a good contribution here, you are not representative of the entire visa cancellation process....

I do agree about the pseudo-experts in here...there are many and my advice to any teacher would be to contact local immigration offices and get the official information for yourself...not to rely on what you get in here.

[Matman]

Korean immigration is probably not as random and inconsistent as everyone thinks. The reason my experience was different from that of a lot of people is because my idiot boss, in his usual attempt to scrimp and save, only paid for a single entry E2 visa. Hence, when I left the country the visa automatically expired. Most people probably have multiple entry visas which of course are linked to the employer, so no matter how many times you leave the country the visa remains in force until its expiry or until cancelled by the employer. So if you have an E2 multiple entry visa you are indeed screwed until the 12 months is up.

Look hard enough and there'll be a logical explanation, even in Korea .

[Homer]

Matman...even with a single entry visa you need for your employer to cancel the visa with immigration.

When you leave..your work visa is indeed made invalid. However it remains on file with immigration until it is cancelled by your now former employer.

Until that happens, a teacher cannot get a new E-2 visa and hence cannot work legally....

Multiple entry visas only mean that if you leave your current work visa remains valid...the cancellation by employer thing still remains in force.

[Matman]

I believe it might depend on the immigration office. E.g. Busan immigration would have no knowledge of your visa from Seoul. Maybe my boss was such an obvious nutter that the immigration official cancelled my visa for me. I don't know.