Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mourningclam]

I know that this is a pretty repetitious topic, but at the urging of my friend who was put in a bad situation, I am telling the story.

This academy called Jung Chul Ilsin in Bugae (Incheon area) dismissed my friend two weeks before his contract was finished. His director said that she was unhappy with his performance and that if she fired him, she wouldnt have to pay his severence and airfare. Well, she did just that. I think he even had a hard time getting the back pay that was owed to him too. He is going through beaurocratic routes to solve this, but they arent too expedient.

[mishlert]

Funny, isn't it? The boss realized 2 weeks before the contract was up about not being happy with your friend. Hmmm, could it have been the boss's greed? Ask the boss and you you will hear, " No. I not happy with employee. Mothers calling and saying bad teacher. Must go." Meanwhile, the boss is thinking "Hmmm, how do they know that I fired the employee just before the end of contract so as to not have to loose all that money?"

[prosodic]

How much notice was given? Do you know that it has to be 30 days or equivalent pay according to Korean law?

This is assuming that the school has enough full-time staff to fall under the Labor Standards Act.

Tell your friend to report to the nearest Regional Labor Review Commission.

[justagirl]

There is no way the boss is going to get away with this, as long as your friend registers a complaint with the Labor Board, waits the appropriate 14 days (to give the school a chance to pay up) and then takes legal action.

Any other help, contact EFL law guy (his info is somewhere on this site--try the search function fo find it). His website has tons of info.

If your friends hasn't already, they need to immediately go and extend their visa, so they won't have complications with an expired visa. There is an automatic extension for people dealing with employer/Labor Board problems.

Anyway, thanks for sharing the story, and hopefully people will avoid working for this school.

[Real Reality]

Please, you and your friend, let your government representative know how he has been treated in Korea. Perhaps, you or your friend could write to the embassy or send an e-mail message to your government representative in Korea or in your country.

Australian Embassy
http://www.australia.or.kr/svc/html/view.htm?v_current=00000244
British Embassy
http://www.britishembassy.or.kr/english/overview/consular/consular.htm#1
Email: [email protected]

The Canadian Embassy in Seoul
Kolon Bldg 9th Floor, 45 Mukyo-dong, Chung-ku
CPO Box 6299, Seoul, Korea
Tel: 02-3455-6000
http://www.korea.gc.ca/aboutus/contactus.e.html
or http://www.korea.gc.ca/aboutus/find.us.e.html
E-mail:
[email protected]

New Zealand Embassy Seoul
E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.nzembassy.com/topic.cfm?CFID=9703737&CFTOKEN=97867405&c=8&l=39&s=nz

U.S. Embassy
http://usembassy.state.gov/seoul/wwwhecontact.html
Send a Message to the U.S. State Department
http://contact-us.state.gov/
US State Department: Consular Affairs
Email address: [email protected]

Got Fired!! Help is here.
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=8023
Help line
http://www.efl-law.com/teacher_help.html
EFL Law Forum
http://www.koreabridge.com/forums/index.php?showforum=22

Foreigners Experience Difficulties in Living in Korea
"Even though Korea has achieved some degree of globalization in going abroad, it has still a long way to go for globalization in embracing foreigners inward," said foreigners residing in Korea. An official in the International Cooperation Division of Seoul City admitted, "The same complaints regarding visas, transportation, education, and environment are raised every year without being solved, due to the lack of cooperation from government agencies involved and their passive attitudes."
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2004070522448

[Derrek]

He will absolutely win hands-down if he goes to the Labor Board. It will take a month or more, but he will win.

It's a lock.

In this situation, he will get his money.

[shawner88]

These days the market is flooded. I've been talking to recruiters that say they have a lot more teachers than jobs these days and that the jobs are getting much more demanding because teachers are agreeing to the terms. The standard now at a hagwon is 8 classes/day, or a seriously split shift. It's these conditions that end up with teachers getting the shaft more than they did for awhile.

[Paji eh Wong]

[shawner88]

I should have known that was coming...hehe...maybe they are full of crap to justify the fact they only can offer crappy jobs.

[prosodic]

[tomwaits]

Might be that there are too many agents in the market...Seems likely...

To the OP...Teacher is bad 11.5 months into a contract? Amazing what some will try...

[mourningclam]

My friend went to the labor board and didnt get all that he was suppose to get. All he got was his back pay, no severence or flight. His boss told the labor board that he quit and wasnt fired. Koreans look out for other Koreans and dont care if the old waegook gets screwed.

[peppermint]

I had to deal with the labor board a few months ago and found them to be decidedly less than helpful. they kept referiing to my director as my owner, and that should've given me some clues.