Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Eedoryeong]

Hello

I'm wondering about loans here for permanent residents e.g. F2s/F5s with families. Does everybody just slug it out until they get their 전세 together and then move in paying in cash or is it fairly easy to use your credit rating from another country, a guarantor here and some collateral and take out a loan? Are the interest rates between 3-6%? Can I do it here without a guarantor? I got a good job and I'd like to go ahead and put something down for a decent apartment but it'll be three years at the current rate before I could pay for it in cash. Meanwhile I wonder if there are any options or what others here have done to deter the idea that one may just up and leave. Any of you done it with your banks back home?

Are ING direct or international bank lenders better options than local?

PMing me with helpful advice is okay too.

thnx

[FDNY]

Korean lenders are very risk averse. Unless you have collateral you are out of luck. A cosigner willing to put up their collateral would also work.

[Stan Rogers]

I know a foreigner who owns a multi million dollar property in Seoul and can't get more than a $100,000 loan against that collateral. It's crazy but true.

I think a Korean cosigner would be crucial.

[big_fella1]

It depends on whether you feel up to a fight or not.

As a permanent resident you are entitled to have your application considered in the same way that a Korean has their application considered. This is a ruling from the Committee for Ending Racial Discrimination (CERD) in the case of Ziad Ben Ahmed Habassi v. Denmark
. Korea has ratified this Convention and accepts the jurisdiction of CERD and this ruling was upheld by the National Human Rights Commission (Korea) when Seoul Guarantee Insurance Company refused mortgage insurance to a permanent resident. Despite this SGIC still refuses to insure 전세 loans for foreigners, and will continue to do so until someone takes them to the commission again. Banks will use this reason to refuse your loan.

Of course many Korean Banks with the agreement Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will try to tell you that it is reasonable to refuse foreigners, even permanent residents loans as they may run away without repaying the loan, but CERD observed that anyone can run away from debt, not just "foreigners".

Even Koreans need at least 40% deposit to buy a place though so it isn't easy to buy, but a key difference is Koreans will be offered loans to help them reach 40% that foreigners will not be offered.

I did hear secondhand about a permanent resident being offered a 전세 loan in his own name, but only to a maximum of 20 million.

International Banks here are very limited in the services they can offer, so aren't much help.

Korea is changing, but they still can't handle F5's yet, fight it or wait 10 years.

[Steelrails]

This people!!! THIS is what we need to get riled up about. Call me a drunken skirt chasing drug addled HIV head all you want. I don't care. The economic rights I'm entitled to I should receive.

A Bonjit Hussein on this issue is desperately called for. With economic rights comes power and the ability to truly promote and support equality.

It's ridiculous that a PERMANENT resident, one step away from a citizen and very likely the spouse and parent of a citizen should not be entitled to the same treatment as other Korean spouses and parents. For the sake of the welfare of those Koreans in their family, that person should be able to provide and conduct commerce to the utmost of their ability.

You think MBC is crimping your style with the ladies? Try not being able to have a future and provide because you are in a shoebox and aren't able because of discrimination to make simple payments on a 2 bedroom apartment. Yes, I know apologists, I should just save for 5 years and throw down key money which may get ripped off. And I'm willing to go that route. BUT really, to be denied the opportunity to exercise my economic freedom in violation of the law is really a black mark.

Obviously I'm trying to compensate for my apologist leanings on other "racism" threads and going over the top on this. But really people, we have to understand that its cases like this that are truly hindering us. Who cares if people are phallus-blocking you? Care about wallet-blocking. Think with your brain and wallet, not with THAT.

[r122925]

What big_fella writes is true. If you're on an F-2/F-5 you have a lot of obstacles in front of you. It's a fight that someone probably should fight though, if you are ready for it.

Another option not yet mentioned is applying for Korean citizenship. If you've been here for at least three years, married for at least one year, and speak a minimal amount of Korean you probably already qualify. Naturalization in Korea is now easier than it has ever been, especially for folks with a Korean spouse.

Since it seems the primary problem is that the government will not insure loans to foreigners, becoming Korean should, at least in theory, solve the problem. I'm sure you still might get a loan officer or two who will give you funny looks when a white guy shows up with a Korean ID card, but if problems arise due to your ethnicity, as a Korean citizen you will be in a better position to fight it.

On a somewhat unrelated note, possibly deserving of its own topic, I've noticed that of the Westerners I know who are married to Koreans, the so-called long-termers and/or lifers, there seem to be very few who show any interest in naturalizing, perfectly happy clinging to their F-5s forever. I wonder why this is the case. I know that dual-citizenship has only been an option for a couple of years now, and perhaps some people simply don't fully understand their options yet. But here's a devil's advocate question... Why do some people think it's reasonable to demand equal rights, when although they are fully eligible for citizenship, they choose not to accept the responsibilities of a citizen?

I'm not trying to call out the OP here, because I don't know anything about your situation, just a general observation/curiosity.

[big_fella1]

I don't want to derail this thread but I believe taking citizenship so you might be treated equally is a little extreme.

The right I seek is the right to provide for my Korean wife and daughter.

I don't expect the rights of full citizenship, I do expect the rights of a human being, a taxpayer and a permanent resident though.

[r122925]

[big_fella1]

[alongway]

[big_fella1]