Korean Job Discussion Forums

Missile Command Kid · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Location: Daegu

First thing: this school has never ripped me off. They've been great to me thus far and as far as money goes, I've never been paid late or had any problems with reimbursement. Now, I'm leaving for Canada at the beginning of June, and the boss wants me to give him the required documents/certificates so that his secretary can go to the pension office on my behalf for the pension refund.

The question is pretty simple: should I let him? I can fill out the forms myself, sure, but is there any possible way that I can get burned by doing so? I've got a pension certificate and have valid medical insurance, so I'm pretty sure that they've been contributing, but still... I'm sure the boss is being helpful, but I just want to know if I could run into any problems by doing this.

shifdog · Joined: 20 Jul 2006

You should go to the office yourself. I'm not sure if they can get your money if they go, but there's no need for them to go for you.

http://wiki.galbijim.com/Korean_pension_plan#Pension_refund_process_for_Canadians

Missile Command Kid · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Location: Daegu

Hmm... another interesting point is that the office has been deducting 44,000 per month from my paycheque, but I'm making 2.5M per month - shouldn't my contribution be in the range of 112,500W? As I said, I've got a certificate from the pension office, but this seems... strange to me. Hmm.

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

Missile Command Kid · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Location: Daegu

Thanks for the help! Two more questions: are employers required to remit pension payments on a regular basis, or can they make a lump sum contribution once a year? Best case scenario is that they were very confused when they figured out how much pension I would owe, and are heading to the pension office next month to not only drop off my forms but to remit their and my pension contributions. Maybe they'll catch the mistake then. I'd like to think positively at this point as I've had absolutely no other problems.

Also, if it does turn out that my employer isn't giving the government their fair share of the money, what happens to me, and what happens to them? In other words, if I go down there myself, show them my paystubs, and find out that my boss said that I only made 1.0M per month, what will happen?

wylies99 · Joined: 13 May 2006 Location: I'm one cool cat!

You need to go to the Pension office and get this straightened out.

If you find out you've been cheated, don't get angry, and calmly consider your next move. Don't confront your boss before planning a strategy. Make sure your documents are safe.

Missile Command Kid · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Location: Daegu

Well, lovely. I called the pension office and found out that they registered my monthly salary at 920,000 won. 4.5% of this is exactly 41,400, what they've been deducting per month. First major problem I've had with the school. Now what?

Young FRANKenstein · Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 5:06 pm Post subject:

Missile Command Kid · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Location: Daegu

Sounds like a plan. I've fired off an email to my handler at the school to let them know that I contacted Pension and the salary/contribution disparity. I really don't want to get into a huge fight about this unless I need to, so I'll give them the chance to correct their "mistake." I've got next week off on vacation, so I'll have plenty of time to run around if necessary. Thanks for the advice!

timhorton · Joined: 07 Dec 2005

Do it yourself.....only let them handle what they 'have' to.

Curious George · Joined: 06 Apr 2004 Location: Seoul, Korea

ChuckECheese · Joined: 20 Jul 2006

Tell your nice boss that you will need the pension refund money (2.5mil X 9% X 12 month = 2.7 million) in your bank account no later than a day before your departure. If not, tell your nice boss that things will get very hairy. Tell him/her nicely with big grin on your face. Laughing

kat2 · Joined: 25 Oct 2005 Location: Busan, South Korea

If the school has been really nice to you, you could consider asking the boss about the discrepancy and offering to let them just pay teh extra money owed straight to you, instead of the pension office. Is it illegal? Yes. But, it will save your employer some loss of face and hassle and you some hassle. They might appreciate you offering to handle this under the table. If they refuse, thats when I would call the pension office.

PaperTiger · Joined: 31 May 2005 Location: Ulaanbataar

In addition to being really slow about taking care of my insurance, my school is not deducting pension. Since all the other times an employer did something illegal or coerced me into cooperating in a questionable action I got screwed, it seems logical to conclude that this situation would be no different. What are the repercussions, if any of not paying into pension? Will I be fined or just the school? How will it effect me?

The last time I "took one for the team" and disobeyed an exit order for damn near two and half months I was fined 450,000 won (cash...pay up NOW) and yelled at and cussed out by an Immi officer after spending almost 8 hours there on what must have been the hottest day of the year. Yay.

wylies99 · Joined: 13 May 2006 Location: I'm one cool cat!

First, make copies of your documents and put them in different locations (with friends?). PROTECT YOUR PASSPORT AND DIPLOMA, EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO CARRY THEM WITH YOU AT ALL TIMES-EVEN IN CLASS.
Get to pension with all of your paystubs and get them working for you.
Go to the tax office and let them know what is going on.
Then, prepare for possible retaliation by the hogwan. They could fire you. It could get very ugly. You will have much support on this board.

BTW- don't feel foolish because you trusted these people. This kind of stuff is common in Korea. It's happened to almost all of us.