Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Corky]

I am leaving Korea at the end of the next university term. Two of my fellow teachers are leaving at the end of February. The University has offered them the money they have paid into the pesion plan plus a few extra won. Nothing that comes close to a months salary for each year worked. This pension plan is a private pension plan and the university is a private university. We thought the university would offer the pension money plus severence as stipulated in Article 34 of the Korean Standards Act.

An appeal to the labor board has given us the results that the university does not have to pay the severence and that articlce 34 does not apply because it is a privstr university and a private pension plan. So to recap we will receive the moneys we have paid into the account and a few thousand won from the university. This seems wrong for so many reasons including the fact that representatives told us when signing our first contracts and several times since that the pension would be matched by the university 50-50.

I am interested in hearing from anybody that has any factual knowledge of why the labour act doesn't apply. Opinions are nice but I'm only interested in the facts.

[hellofaniceguy]

Well...you won't beat them. That's for sure. If I have learned anything in korea...it's that.... be sure and have every stinking little detail spelled out verbatim...VERBATIM in a contract....and make a trip to the labor board with the contract before signing, ask their opinion.... cause koreans will screw you over almost every chance they get it seems.
So many different laws...subjective impressions...and each office still does not know the right hand from the left.
Sorry to hear about your lose.

[dutchman]

http://www.efl-law.com/pension.html

[dutchman]

Some more thoughts on the subject. The university pays 60% of your pension contributions (I think, might be 40% though). When you say it doesnt come out to even close to one months salary for every year there is something you may be overlooking. Check out your pay stub. Your actual salary is probably about 800,000 won. All the other stuff is tacked on as things like traveling expense.

[kangnamdragon]

Pension and severence are not the same. Of which do you write?

[dutchman]

[the eye]

what does your contract say about severance?
if it's in the contract, you will win in small claims court, but it will cost you half as much to fight.

[J.B. Clamence]

dutchman is right: Private universities do not have to pay severance as long as they offer pension. As you mentioned, you are getting pension, so unless a there is a severance package mentioned in your contract in addition to the pension, then they have no obligation to pay you severance (and from your post, it sounds like there is no mention of severance in the contract). That's one of the downsides of working a uni gig, but the plusses far outweigh the little minuses like this.

As far as the pension goes, even private pensions are calculated according to Korean pension Law. They can't just put in whatever they want if you're putting in a lot. What exactly do you mean by "a few thousand won"? How much did you put in, and how much did they? Can you give us figures please?

[Ryst Helmut]

[dutchman]