Korean Job Discussion Forums

[forgesteel]

What is the purpose of these? When are they used? What are they good for? When do I need to collect one? What information must one contain in order to be valid?

Thanks in advance,

[Ya-ta Boy]

A release letter (Letter of Release--LoR) is the letter your current employer writes stating that is A-OK with him that you get a different job. This is needed when a foreign employee quits a job before the end of the contract. It is shown to a prospective employer and the Immigration office when seeking new employment.

Without one, you cannot legally change jobs during the period of your current E-2 visa/contract.

[denverdeath]

If you're not already register with EFL-Law, do so. They have some downloadable forms in Korean and English. Give the Korean one to your employer to fill out if you are thinking about changing jobs. Just be aware that the workplace is not required to give you a LoR if they don't want to. I had to get one before and it wasn't that easy. Plus, I had to have the new director go to bat for me and probably he paid a little "extra" to immi. Also, I had to write out a letter explaining detailed details of my situation. However, my situation may have been a bit abnormal, and the change, or transfer, of workplace ended up going through.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

A LOR gets you two things. It gets your visa stamped 'Cancelled' by immi and it gets you an exit order. Korean employers, especially hogwan directors, hate them. I had to get nasty to get mine. Beware that the Korean translation on EFL law is problematic, acording to several very bilingual friends of mine. Try to use the English one. Here's the cut-and-pasted version I saved.

LETTER OF RELEASE

Letter of Consent to Release Foreign English Teacher

Name of Teacher:
Nationality:
Passport No.:
Address:
Telephone No.:
The above-person has been working at our school/academy from __________ to _______________ in the position of Foreign English teacher. We hereby give our consent to the transfer of said person to work for another English school/academy.
Dated: _____, 2003
Name of English Academy
Address of School
_______________________________
Representative
/SEAL/

[forgesteel]

You all are great for responding so quickly. You confirmed what I had read about this topic earlier. A prospective employer asked me for one of these from my old employer. I thought it was weird though, cuz I wasn't prematurely leaving any contract. I'm finishing it to the letter, with no ammendation or changes. I told him as much, and a day later I found out that I was right (no letter was needed), and I guess he finally did some research for himself, and found out for himself that I was right, too.

Thanks you guys (and girls?)!

[denverdeath]

[schwa]

When I switched jobs after completing a contract I got something similar to a letter of release which seemed to help enable me to renew my visa without having to leave the country.

[Cherry Ripe]

I've read all the posts on the RoR. What's NOT clear to me is whether, if you quit your job BEFORE the contract expires, and you leave the country to get a new E2 visa with your NEW employer, you still need the LoR??

In other words, do you need the LoR to secure the Confirmation of Visa Issuance paper?

What if you left Korea, had your current E2 cancelled, returned on a tourist visa, then applied for the new visa??

[Yu_Bum_suk]