Korean Job Discussion Forums

[princess]

a contract today and it mentioned tax would be withheld according to the Korean government but it wasn't specifically specified as 3%, 4%, or whatever. Also, there was no mention of national pension in the contract. Also, who knows Sung-buk gu? Thanks.

[ontheway]

The Korean income tax is progressive. The exact rate depends on your income level and your personal deductions. You should check the NTS website. The best thing for you would be if the employer would just follow the Korean tax law. Just look up the tax.

The national pension is really just a tax. Some teachers here can get the money back when they leave (if they're from US, Canada, other countries?) They can also collect the matching amounts paid by the employer, however, most employers are smart enough to lower the pay level by 5% so that the teacher gains nothing from this. It's just a socialistically inspired welfare illusion. You will pay 4.5% and your employer will pay 4.5% based on your lower pay level. If you're from a country that does not have an arrangement with Korea, you still get a lower salary, pay 4.5% of your own money and then you get nothing back. It's really a 9% tax. Some lucky teachers are exempt from this tax. They can get a higher base salary and pay nothing and invest all the money themselves at a higher rate of return.

[LarrytheGiraffee]

I agree that you should check what amount the National Tax Service website quotes as the monthly withholding for the pay you are being offered. Then I would have it writen in the contract that that is the amount you are willing to have deducted. Otherwise, you will probably have 5% deducted monthly but 5% will not be paid to the government.

I just went through a situation with a former employer where I paid 100,000 per month in taxes. It turned out when he filed my taxes that he lied about my wages and claimed I only made about 2/3 of what I really made. In the end he only paid 39,000 won in taxes over the entire year, while I paid 1.3 million (because he withheld "tax" for my severence pay as well). This also decreased the amount that he paid for health insurance, but I was still deducted the full amount.

In the end I got most of my money back, but now he refuses to give the tax forms to another employee that worked there at the same time. If you have already paid taxes to an employer, he is suppose to provide you with a "Receipt of wage and salary withholding" form no later than 30 days after your final day of work. You can then download an English version of the form from the National Tax Service website so you know what you are looking at. If your employer wont give you this form the Tax Service will try to contact your employer on your behalf.