Korean Job Discussion Forums

[harlowethrombey]

Maybe I'm not all the way down with the legalese the kids are using these days but you tell me what this statement in the new contract means:

<You agree to not sue if> '. . . from any cause whatsoever (including, but not limited to, travel delays, property damage and loss, bodily injuries, sickness, disease and death), directy or indirectly arising in connection with my participation in employment with SMOE whether or not foreseeable or contributed to by the negligent acts or omissions of SMOE and companies hired to recruit teachers on behalf of SMOE.'

Uh, death? So if SMOE foreseeably kills me, I'm not allowed to sue. Which I guess makes sense seeing as how I'm dead and all. But WTF is that statement doing in a contract? I'm afraid if SMOE's negligent actions lead to a forseeable event like me getting my legs scissored off (they knew it was going to happen and just let it happen) I'm probably going to sue. . .

Not that I imagine any of this will occur, but what a bizzare and massively overreaching clause to put into a contract and I have yet to sign it until I get a plausible answer from the abyss of information that is SMOE.


sorry if this has already been posted.


edited a spelling mistake

[alphakennyone]

Yeah, I signed that thing...I guess if the shoddy apartment they put you up in burns to the ground, they won't be responsible for your medical bills.

[Seoul'n'Corea]

[harlowethrombey]

I fully understand and support the fact that if some teacher dies in an accident then SMOE should not be sued.

It's just the legal language is so broad it seems to me to literally give them the power to do anything to you.

And, again, I dont actually think SMOE is trying to hurt anyone, it's more the principle of the thing.

I dunno, maybe I'm making a mountain out of a moe hill, but I did some work long ago for a lawyer and the first thing he told me was to make sure I read every contract cover to cover and try to fully understand the implications of the language.

[The Gipkik]

That addendum you speak of effectively guarantees that SMOE will not have to pay any additional money to you for anything, including death, no matter how it happens. SMOE may be a government agency, but it is essentially functioning like a low-end rectruiter on this one. The additional implication here is that once you are here and ensconced in your apartment and school, SMOE doesn't want to have anything else to do with you--that is the CORRECT reading.

[PamPhi]

[Theo]

Aside from the absurdity of a desceased person filing a lawsuit, I think the OP has every reason to be concerned about this outrageous contract clause.

Without going into the gory details, I was teaching for a very "reputable" (ha!) adult hagwon in Seoul this time one year ago. Seven months into my contract, I became ill, and my manager (an Aussie) refused to help me seek medical treatment. Ultimately, my students intervened, but as a result of absolutely LOUSY medical service, I was misdiagnosed and therefore mistreated, and during the ensuing three weeks I spent bed-bound in a "hospital," my condition worsened. By the time I was able to get myself out of that "hospital" and on a plane back to the U.S. (no easy feat), I was in terrible condition. Upon arrival (taken directly to the hospital from the airport) I was properly diagnosed, but my condition was at that point, so advanced that emergency surgery was attempted, but aborted. As a result of my horrific experience in Korea, I am now permanently disabled.

DO NOT agree to sign such clauses. Even without my Korean nightmare, I would not have agreed to such an outrageous condition. These types of clauses are there for a reason -- such as SMOE being hit with numerous lawsuits in the past, etc.

Think about it, would you sign such a clause in your home country? I seriously doubt it. So why on earth would you agree to such terms in Korea (or as I call it "North Korea Lite"). Such ridiculous stunts will continue until FTs stand up, and say: "Forget it!"

[Xuanzang]

[ED209]

Accidents in the work place are fairly common here. Why shouldn't you sue if due to neglect your school causes you to have an accident. Checked if the fire exits are padlocked? Has someone placed the water cooler over your computer? Do you have to reach into a fuse box to turn on the fans? Who put up that big screen TV in the classroom? Someone's going to get hurt.

This absolves SMOE of all responsibilities, does that also absolve the individual school? Do public schools have no liability insurance?

[AgentM]

SMOE is just covering their ***es. Blanket clauses like this are fairly common in bureaucracies. Last year I was on the executive of a university dance club, and we had to get people to sign a waiver saying that they couldn't sue the university if they got injured while dancing.

[Morning_Star]

Doctors do the same thing.

[alphakennyone]

[pkang0202]

[oskinny1]

[AgentM]