The following is a GUEST POST coauthored by Yuna Lee, Korean attorney and Darren Bean, California attorney. We’d like to thank them for their contribution to this blog.
You can read Ms. Lee’s blog at askakoreanlawyer.blogspot.com and if you need legal help you can contact her at askalawyer [at] naver [dot] com and him at legumelegal [at] gmail [dot] com.
The following are some legal terms and phrases that may be useful for dealing with contractual disputes at your place of employment.
Vocabulary
| English | Korean | Hanja | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract1 | 계약(서) | 契約 | 계 = 계획 (plan) 약 = 약속 (promise) 서 = 서류 (documents) |
| Execute (formal for "write" or "sign") | 작성 | 作成 | to make, to complete |
| Condition (or term) | 조건 | 條件 | 조 = type 건 = thing |
| Violate (a law) or illegally break (a contract) | 위반 | 違反 | 위 = dislocate / misplace 반 = against |
| Penalty fee (money paid for breaking a contract) | 위약금 | 위 = dislocate / misplace 약 = 약속 (promise) 금 = money |
|
| Rescission2 (undo a contract) | 해제 / 해지 | ||
| Sue (in civil court) | 소송(하다) | ||
| Pay for damages (legal obligation) | 손해배상 | 손해 = damage, harm 배상= indemnify / compensate |
- The additional “서”refers to the physical document itself.
- These terms are similar to “rescission” which is a form of undoing the contract. If you have a legal right to do so you may not have to pay, but if you lack a legal right to cancel, you may be violating the contract.
Phrases
- 계약을 작성하셨습니까?
Did you write/sign a contract? - 그런 행동은 계약의 조건에 위반됩니다.
Such a course of action would violate the terms of the contract. - 지금 해지하시면 위약금은 12만원입니다.
If you cancel the contract now, you will owe 120,000 won in penalty fees. - 소송하고 말겠습니다! 손해배상을 기대하고 있습니다!
I’m going to sue you! You will have to pay me!
Labor Disputes
If you do have labor or contractual disputes in Korea, your best course of action would be:
- Get a trustworthy and sympathetic Korean helper
- Talk to a Korean lawyer
- Go to the Labor Office in your area
Labor Offices in Korea
Galbijim has an extensive page listing of the Labor Offices all over Korea.
HOWEVER, it unfortunately doesn’t look entirely accurate because the “How to Get There” section is identical for every location.
But, the phone numbers and addresses vary, so it would still be a good starting point. Be sure to confirm the location of the Labor Office in your area with other local foreigners or Koreans who would know.
The Jeonju Labor Office
As we are located in Jeonju (and Galbijim’s Jeonju information appears inaccurate), here is detailed Labor Office information provided by The Jeonju Hub:
Jeonju District Office of Gwangju Regional Labor Board
전주노동청= (“Jeonju No-Dong Cheong”)
78 Sindeok-1 gil Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do
(063-240-3400)
Extent of Jurisdiction : Jeollabuk-do Jeonju-si, Namwon-si, Jeongeup-si, Jangsu-gun, Imsil-gun, Sunchang-gun, Wanju-gun, Jinan-gun, Muju-gun
More information can be found at The Jeonju Hub’s page.
Resources
- MOEL : Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor
- Jeonju Labor Board Website
- Printable Naver Map (+ Bus Routes) to the Jeonju Labor Board
Thanks again to Yuna and Darren for putting together this post for us! Remember, you can read Ms. Lee’s blog at askakoreanlawyer.blogspot.com and if you need legal help you can contact her at askalawyer [at] naver [dot] com and him at legumelegal [at] gmail [dot] com.
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