Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Phoenix]

Where to begin..

Basically I started working at this new late last year, and everything was great - I am the only foreign teacher, 8 Korean teachers (it's a maths and English academy) and a really good director. The school itself is part of a big group of schools in 1 area and they're all owned by 1 businessman who had irons in many different fires.
Anyway, the old overall owner sold the school recently to a new guy (let's call him Mr X for reference here), and soon after that the director of the school I was at left. His replacement was fine and I didn't forsee any problems.

It turns out however that Mr X has not released funds to pay the teachers at the other branches of this school in the area, and he will not release the funds to pay everyone at our school (pay day is Thursday). His reasoning is that he needs all the money to pay off debts related to the old overall owner - basically the money is there, he's refusing to pay it.

Last night the Korean teachers had a showdown meeting with Mr X when he said no-one would be paid and that he would shut down the school almost immediately, so the teachers are going on strike as of today - the students have been told not to attend and we're here now discussing legal action.

I'd be interested to know what recourse I will have. Mr X has effectively closed the school 3 days short of pay-day, so I have no place of work. He has the funds available and isn't claiming bankruptcy to avoid paying - he is simply refusing to pay, wanting to put the money to a different use.
Can I go to the Labor Board over this? Is it worth getting legal advice on what to do? I would think that because he is refusing to pay even though he has the funds then something should be able to be done about it.

Any suggestions/help would be much appreciated!

(as for visa status, I have an F2 visa so I have no problems remaining in the country to chase anything up)

P.S. I've already got in contact with EFL-Law, I wondered if anyone on here had similar experiences or any advice.

[Ilsanman]

Of course you are sitting on solid legal ground. Do you need to ask? He has money, and is totally breaking the contract. The most fundamental part of his end of the agreement.

Don't come to work. That will either cause you to get your money or lose your job. If you don't strike, it won't matter much, and the korean teachers will feel betrayed by you. Also, english alone can not support this hagwon.

Anyways, you don't want to work for this guy, do you?

[Butterfly]

[rapier]

Stop work immediately and get onto the labor board pronto!!

[shawner88]

Wow, that really stinks. I'm sitting here trying to think of advice, but I'm not coming up with anything. Fighting for your money sounds like a nightmare in this country, but not impossible. You have an E-2 visa and will be in a predicament if you quit. You have to decide whether to stick it out and try o get the cash, or cutting your losses ASAP, leaving and coming back with a fresh tourist visa and work under the table until you old E-2 expires. During that time you can work on fighting for your money. Either way, you better decide quickly if your low on cash.



Perhaps Mr. X will give you a release letter instead of paying you?



By the way, this is why I always demand payment to be given 2xs a month or even weekly (my last school paid me 500k every Friday for a year) before I sign a contract. Most people never ask, but most times they will agree to get you to sign. Waiting one month is too risky, if you ask me...and this is a perfect reason why.

[Phoenix]

Thanks all for the replies - pay day is today, and the director still says "no".
I've got all the information I need now to go to the Labor Board, which I will do sometime next week.
shawner88, I have the F2 visa so it's going to be a lot easier for me to stick this whole thing out. I'm not going anywhere in a hurry so it's an advantage over people who are in this position only on an E2. I guess I'm lucky in that regard.
I'll try to keep everyone updated with what happens!

[shawner88]

Thanks, good luck. Let us know!

[ffl007]

How about a baseball bat or any other long solid object and then confront the guy. Yes, it does sound primitive but, then again Korea does have it's throw back ways and customs. Adapt.

[Phoenix]

A further twist to this story...

it seems that the threat of me going to the Labor Board has worked, as my full pay was transferred to my bank account this morning. However, the boss has only paid me and not the Korean teachers.
I think now that he has fulfilled his side of the contractural obligation then I should fulfill mine in the sense of giving 30 days notice before leaving. Hopefully I won't have any problems getting the final month pay.
The only thing now is I'm worried it will create a bad atmosphere with the Korean teachers. I should support them in their standoff against the boss but now I am not being wronged - i would be breaking my contract if I did anything, yet if there's no Korean teachers at the school then I have no school to go to!

Anyway if anyone's interested then I'll keep you updated with what happens from here on..

(p.s. a baseball bat does sound like a good idea! )

[shawner88]

Youre foolish to stick it out at this point. Take the cash and run. Why go through 30 days of uncertainty, worry, etc...

[Phoenix]

[Derrek]

Ask for him to pay you week-by-week.

It's a fun way to really piss off a Korean boss you hate!

[rapier]

I feel sorry for the korean co-workers. No wonder they hate us: we get paid more than them, work less hours, are the first to be paid in any scenarios like this one mentioned, and so on. Its not our fault though of course, they should direct their hatred at their own Korean bosses, not waeguks...

[prairieboy]

Good luck. Mark the day on the calander and start the count down!

Cheers dude

[Butterfly]