Korean Job Discussion Forums :: View topic - Paying Back National Health Payments

Speak Korean Now!

Teach English Abroad and Get Paid to see the World!

Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"

FAQ

Memberlist

Usergroups

Profile

Paying Back National Health Payments

Korean Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> General Discussion Forum

View previous topic :: View next topic

Author

Message

itiswhatitis

Joined: 08 Aug 2011

Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 10:15 am Post subject: Paying Back National Health Payments

I started a new job a month ago and my former job (for 2 years) didn't have me enrolled in the national health insurance plan. Will I have to pay back the premiums??? Will it have to be all at once??? Thanks!!!

ttompatz

Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea

Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 6:54 pm Post subject: Re: Paying Back National Health Payments

itiswhatitis wrote:

I started a new job a month ago and my former job (for 2 years) didn't have me enrolled in the national health insurance plan.

Will I have to pay back the premiums???

Will it have to be all at once???

Thanks!!!

If you are on the same status of sojourn (did a transfer) AND they try to enroll you in the NHIC then yes, you get the bill for 100% of your outstanding premiums backdated from the time of your original entry on that visa. They will NOT let you make "payments" over time.

If you are on a new visa then no.

.

hongdae2

Joined: 17 Sep 2006

Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 8:43 pm Post subject:

aww Last edited by hongdae2 on Tue Aug 09, 2016 2:36 pm; edited 1 time in total

ttompatz

Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea

Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 11:51 pm Post subject:

hongdae2 wrote:

correct me if i'm wrong, but i believe that you just have to leave the country and come back (get a new re-entry stamp on your passport) even if it is on the same day...and then you don't have to pay for the previous 2 years.

before, i think that there was a specific time frame you had to be out of the country in order to avoid the "back pay" for korean health insurance, but i read somewhere that they had recently changed it.

You are correct. A new visa restarts the clock PROVIDED you do it before they come looking for their money.

There is no "out of the country" minimum time requirement.

On the other hand, TRANSFERing to a new employer while on the same status of sojourn does NOT reset the clock and you can get hit for ALL (100%) of the outstanding back-payments (your portion and your previous employer's portion as well).

.

Troglodyte

Joined: 06 Dec 2009

Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 1:24 am Post subject:

If he does get hit with the bill, will his former employer be required to pay half of it?

itiswhatitis

Joined: 08 Aug 2011

Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 2:07 am Post subject:

Troglodyte wrote:

If he does get hit with the bill, will his former employer be required to pay half of it?

Good point....anyone know if I will have to pay the entire amount or would it be half and half??? (half from me and half from former employer).

Thanks!!!

ontheway

Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Location: Somewhere under the rainbow...

Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 9:40 am Post subject:

itiswhatitis wrote:

Troglodyte wrote:

If he does get hit with the bill, will his former employer be required to pay half of it?

Good point....anyone know if I will have to pay the entire amount or would it be half and half??? (half from me and half from former employer).

Thanks!!!

This depends on the facts of your situation.

If your previous job actually registered you as an Independent Contractor with the tax office, and paid in the required 3.3% of your income, then you will be held for 100%. If your contract stated that you were an employee you could have some argument against this, however your silence for 2 years provides some evidence that you agreed to it.

If you were hired as an Employee and your job just failed to register you at all, then your previous job could be (and should be) required to pay half. In some cases they could be required to pay 100%.

If your status or contract was not clear, then other facts come into play:
Did you have another form of health insurance or none at all?
If covered under another plan did your boss pay half?
Were you enrolled in the National Pension?
Did you pay Income Taxes? How much or what percentage rate?

There is a good chance that your former job could be forced to pay half.

FYI: If you weren't enrolled in the National Health Insurance then I'd guess that you weren't enrolled in Pension either. In that case the Pension office could very well be after you for 2 years of payments too. Pension and Health Insurance have separate registration but they are linked to check for scofflaws.

The good news if you have to pay, if you're from the US or Canada you can get that money back when you leave Korea.

If you were an employee, or if you were not a legally registered Independent Contractor, your ex-boss will have to pay half of that amount too.

If your ex-boss has to pay half of both Pension and Health Insurance for two years, even though you may have to pay half too, you will come out ahead in the end.

Scorpion

Joined: 15 Apr 2012

Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2012 10:53 pm Post subject:

ttompatz wrote:

hongdae2 wrote:

Ttompatz, I got a letter last week from the national health insurance people demanding 500,000 won from 2004-5. Apparently my then hogwan was playing fast and loose with the rules. Big surprise, I know. Anyway, I have had several new contracts since that time - and on three occasions left the country altogether for several months. I came back to Korea on brand new visas. Three times. Does this mean they can't claim against me?

I don't want to be financially penalized because my previous employer didn't make the necessary payments.

Thanks in advance,

ontheway

Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Location: Somewhere under the rainbow...

Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 8:13 am Post subject:

Scorpion wrote:

ttompatz wrote:

hongdae2 wrote:

In the past the National Health Insurance and National Pension offices didn't follow up on people with new visas for past payments. However, according to the facts of your case, it seems that they have decided to go after anyone they can find who failed to properly enroll in the past, despite being on a new visa.

With all the complaining on Dave's about Independent Contractors not signing up as legally required for health insurance and pension, and the many ICs who have seen the IC contract as an opportunity to evade registration, it could be that they've decided to go after the IC scofflaws.

There was never any legal reason for the authorities not to follow up on these unpaid amounts, they just didn't do it for practical reasons. Now it seems they're responding again to the ESL community's complaints, and once again in a way opposite to what the whiners had anticipated.