Korean Job Discussion Forums

[big shooter]

Alright....I came to my school based on a recommendation from my friend who had already been here 4-5 months...since I was just finishing my degree via some summer courses and wouldn't have my degree until convocation in December, the school decided to hire me and pay me 'under the table' until my paper work came in...

As usual nothing happened when it was supposed to and all of the paper work which was necessary to make me a 'legal' teacher was only finalized after 5 months of teaching...

I was told in an e-mail that my expenses for my visa run to Japan would be covered. They paid for my flight and gave me 100,000 Won (60 of which went to the cost of the papers) ...I paid for my 3 nights of hotels (they sent me on a national holiday in Japan, had to stay an extra night) and all of my other traveling expenses.

Also, I noticed on my pay stubs for the 5 months that income tax was being deducted (roughly 65,000 per month) while my pension was not. Is that right? Does it make sense for them to deduct income tax if I am working under the table, but not my pension? My director said that while I was working 'under the table' the school was still showing that someone was working here so it was necessary for them to take off income tax...but if that was the case, why wouldn't pension be matched as well...

I am Canadian, so I'm not sure how the tax laws work for us....

I feel like I'm getting the raw end of every deal...my hours just went up (not in classes taught, but in time I have to spend at the school) and my pay is the same....

[ED209]

Am I being ripped off?

yes.

So you were working illegally and paying tax!
Ask for your tax stubs.
I can kinda believe that the tax office doesn't care if you are illegal. There is no communication between departments here in Korea.

[big shooter]

I have my pay stubs which show how much is being deducted...is that different from my tax stubs?

[oxfordstu]

My God --- why the hell would you ever agree to this? You should have just waited until you had your degree. If you're working under the table, you definitely shouldn't be taxed; don't know about the pension, though. Is your boss ever going to reimburse you for your Japan visa run?

[poet13]

Yes, you are being ripped off, but honestly, until you are legal, you haven't got a leg to stand on. If the boss were to simply decide not to pay you, there's not a whole lot you could do about it.

Now, when you do get legal, stop paying 65,000 won tax. DEFINITELY get onto pension. As a Canadian, you will get all that back as a lump sum. That will be an extra million or so from your boss to your pocket.
When you get signed up for pension, after a couple of months (maybe a litle less, maybea little more), you should get a certificate in the mail that kind of looks like one of those, "You've just won ten million dollars!!!" sweepstakes thingies. Unless you're making double what everyone else here makes here, your tax should be around 30K. That's assuming that making about 2.0.

[laogaiguk]

You are being ripped off, but not much you can do about it.

On another note, you are surprised a company that paid you under the table for that long was not honest?

[big shooter]

Well from speaking with the school and reading the e-mails they sent me before I came (which I still have) it's a much bigger advantage for them to hire me through my friend (even though it was not legal) since they waived the recruiting fee and knew they were getting someone who wasn't going to pull a midnight run.....

So, I shouldn't have been getting taxed at all, AND I was being taxed twice what I should be? I make exactly 2.0....

[big shooter]

There is a lot I could do...I could walk out on the school.....they would scramble around trying to find someone to teach for them until they found a full time replacement plus they would have to pay a recruiting fee....

[ChuckECheese]

[ron_j]

I don't see why you're even posting about getting ripped off while working illegally. You ripped off the system, hence you're getting ripped off. Makes perfect sense to me.

[Lonewolph]

You are not getting ripped off. The school has listed you as a Korean employee and are deducting the appropriate taxes (3% tax from 2.0M=60,00KRW).

The school also honored their agreement and payed for your visa run including hotel after FIVE whole months of waiting for your visa documents. Trust me...you are one of the lucky ones.

[happeningthang]

[big shooter]

First off, I wouldn't really consider me working for them as "ripping off the system"...they contacted me and offered the job...I accepted...if someone is offering to pay me for my work/labour, how am I ripping off anyone? That's the way the world works...THEY are/were ripping off the 'system' by offering me the job in the first place.

[christopher1magelli]

No, you aren't getting ripped off. They had to show where 10,000,000 Won went. Most likely they put it under another teacher's name. Hence the tax being deducted, however his or her pension contribution most likely stayed the same.

[PRagic]

Get over it. Drive on. No biggie.