The number of students from overseas coming to study in Korea has leapt in recent years.

In 2002, there were just 7,300 taking classes here but seven years later that number has reached 75,000, according to the Korea Immigration Service’s statistics.

One of the great positives to come out of this phenomenon, in addition to people from overseas learning about Korea, local students and the general public have the benefit of experiencing other cultures.

If you are from overseas and you want to study here, you need a visa. To be precise, you need a D-2 (Study Abroad) visa if you are going to enroll in regular courses at a domestic academic research institution or college, or if you want to participate in other specific forms of study.

A D-4 (General Training) visa is given to people who are studying at a university, a national or private institution, or at an elementary, middle or high school.

If you are studying simultaneously at two institutions, you need to get your hands on a D-4-4 (Language Training) visa.

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Generally, Seoul’s extensive mass transit system can take you anywhere you may need to go. But if you take frequent business trips or have a family, a car may be a more convenient way to travel. There are many times when renting a car will do the job, but sometimes it is more convenient to own one.

Before purchasing a car, you must have a driver’s license, and be sure you know about Korean traffic laws. People with international licenses may drive in Korea, and people from countries that are part of the Geneva Convention or the Vienna Convention may exchange licenses from their home countries in exchange for a Korean one.

Q. What is the process of registering a newly purchased car?

A. It is important to register your vehicle upon purchase. The car dealer is generally required by law to register vehicles at the purchaser’s request. Driving a brand-new vehicle without registering it can result in a jail sentence of up to two years and/or a fine of up to 5 million won ($4,200). Registration can be made with the city or provincial government and district offices. Refer to the list on the right side for required documents for car registration.

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A customer requested a refund for a pair of boots after 4 months

A foreign customer who had purchased a pair of boots in July asked to repair the boots’ in December. When he asked for the repair the seller indicated that it would take about a week to fix the zipper. However, a week later, when he went to the shop to pick up the repaired boots, the seller asked him to wait for a month because the boots was imported from overseas and needed to ship to the original country to be fixed. As it was a high priced item, the customer felt it was wrong that defects appeared within the first 4 month of ownership. This fact, along with the fact that the inconvenient service of not keeping the promise the seller had made, the customer requested a refund. The seller declined. Therefore, the customer requested help from Seoul Global Center.

Seoul Global Center first made an inquiry to the business’ side of the story. According to the seller, the boots were imported from Japan and made out of specific materials which cannot be found in Korea. It was possible to fix the boots with different material, but the customer requested the original material be used. Therefore, the seller explained the reason for the delay, but refused to give a refund for the boots because it passed the return policy period. However, the seller made a promise to provide the full service to fix the boots as soon as possible.

According to the Regulations on Consumer Dispute Resolution, in a case where a purchased product is defected or cannot be fixed, a producer or a seller has the responsibility to replace the defective product with a new product or to refund the amount of purchased product, unless the cause of the damage was determined to be the fault of the customer.

In this case, the boots were broken after only 4 months and were past the return period. The customer is responsible for the fee to get the boots fixed. Even though the seller made a promise to fix the boots and couldn’t meet the deadline, it was an unavoidable circumstance for the seller. As the seller was trying to provide an extra service for the product, without any kind of service charge, the customer was not required to give a refund.

However, the customer insisted on a full refund of the boots due to his flight back to his country in 2 weeks. The seller did not accept the request, but offered to send the boots to the customer’s country upon it’s complete repair. The Seoul Global Center arbitrated the situation by working to ensure that the customer will receive their item by the promised date. In the event that the seller did not keep their promise, the Global Center also agreed to get proper compensation on behalf of the customer.

After the promised date, no contact was made by the customer. The Seoul Global Center contacted the seller to verify the result of this dispute, and confirmed that the customer visited the store and picked up the fixed boots.

As seen in the case above, items damaged by fault of the purchaser are not necessarily required to be repaired or refunded by the seller. In these cases, if the seller agrees to repair the item, they are entitled to charge a service fee.

Written by Yi, Seong-Ock
Consumer counselor at the Seoul Global Center
Tel) 02-2075-4129

The Seoul Metro Government announced a new policy named, ‘Secondhand Smoke-free Seoul’ as per the revised legislative bill, “The National Health Promotion Law” that  was passed by the National Assembly on April 28th, 2010.

Starting the second half of this year, all bus stops, parks, plazas, streets and areas within a 200-meter radius of schools are to be designated as non-smoking areas,  Those found smoking in these prohibited areas will be fined up to 100,000 won.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government, in conjunction with the Seoul Business Agency (SBA), established the ‘Seoul Global Business Support Center’ with the aim of making Seoul an ideal city for foreign businesses. The Seoul Global Business Support Center is offering an integrated one-stop service in order to facilitate foreign investment and attract foreign businesspersons who have interests in starting a business in Seoul.

For foreigners conducting business in Seoul, the Seoul Global Business Support Center will provide a variety of information in English, Chinese and Japanese languages, consulting, and other intensive support services. The Seoul Global Business Support Center will offer these services free of charge to supply comfortable residential conditions in Seoul for the greater ease of business activities by foreigners, and thereby contribute to the settlement of foreigners in Korea.

※  Contact Information for the Seoul Global Business Support Center

1. Director of the Center  Tel: 02-6001-7243  tk277@sbs.seoul.kr
2. Consultations in English  Tel: 02-6001-7242  youngmi@sba.seoul.kr
3. Consultations in Chinese  Tel: 02-6001-7241  barammeri@sba.seoul.kr
4. Consultations in Japanese  Tel: 02-6001-7240  jina0850@sba.seoul.kr

※  Integrated Business Consulting and Support
※  Integrated Living Consulting and Support
※  Education Programs and Seminars
※  Incubation Office Services (Free Lease)

Directions:
Take the escalator up leading from Hall A3 on the first floor of the COEX to the second floor.
The center is located at the east end of the Trade Mart (towards the east gate of COEX) on the 2nd Floor of the COEX.
Business Hours: Mon. ~ Fri. 09:00~18:00

A foreign college professor had made a mutual agreement with a moving company before signing a contract for their services. When presented with the contract, the stated amount was more than agreed. Assuming the difference would be refunded to him eventually, he went ahead and paid the full amount. When it was not returned, he came with a claim to the Seoul Global Center and asked for assistance.

According to the claim made by the professor, the business violated their agreement and created a false contract, so that a higher fee could be collected using the argument that the contract stated was valid.
We first inquired as to the business’ side of the story.

According to the business, an estimate was to be drafted after a visit to the client’s house. The estimate was to be based on the types and quantities of objects that needed to be moved, as well as the services that were requested as well. The estimate was then to be used in the drafting of the contract, and was signed because the client had agreed to the terms.

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Korea Immigration Service’s new visa for skilled foreign workers has been met with mixed reactions from expats here. Designed to improve the environment for highly-skilled global human resources living in Korea, its critics say requirements to obtain the new visa are too strict, while others say the point system is on par with those of most developed countries.
　
Fielding Hong, who is currently working in Seoul as a public school English teacher, is optimistic about his chances of procuring the new F-2-7 visa, though he admits that it may take some time.
　
“Even though I’m committed to staying in Korea, being on an E-2 visa makes it difficult to have the time to study. If I had an F-2-7 visa, I would definitely enroll in a university Korean language program and find work that would complement that schedule,” he said. “I know that obtaining this visa will take a lot of time and energy, but I‘m willing to invest in that process.” 

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Brent and Myunga, subjects of the documentary "Resilience"

Korea has a historied past of international adoption, dating back to after the Korean War.  More recently, in a move to encourage domestic adoption, the Korean government deemed May 11th “Adoption Day” as part of the Family days that dot the May calendar (May 5th – Children’s Day, May 8th – Parent’s Day, May 21st – Spouse’s Day, etc.)

Within the past couple of years, international adoptee groups in Korea (ASK, TRACK, KoRoot) have been working alongside national lawmakers, a group of public interest lawyers (Gonggam),  and an unwed mothers’ group (Miss Mama Mia) to revise the Special Adoption Law, the law that governs all adoptions in Korea.  You can read more about their work here. 

In order to educate the public more about the issues of adoption in Korea, one international Korean adoptee group, ASK (Adoptee Solidarity Korea) is hosting an Adoption Day Event on Monday, May 10th.  The first part of the event, which starts at 6:30pm, will be a “Special Adoption Law Reception,” where attendees can hear from speakers within the movement, including Congresswoman Choi Young-Hee (DP).  The second part of the event, which starts at 7:30pm, will be a film screening of adoptee filmmaker Tammy Chu’s most recent documentary, Resilience (회복의 길) which premiered at last year’s Busan International Film Festival.  You can read more about the film here.  Tickets cost 10,000 won which includes food and beverages and all proceeds from the event will be donated directly to Miss Mama Mia.

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For expats who are eligible to vote, which I wrote about more here, the National Election Committee has launched their new website to provide up-to-date English information about the upcoming elections:

http://www.nec.go.kr/nec_new2009/english/election2010/main/main.jsp

Kangnam Labor Law Firm is now offering a Legal Assurance Program for foreign employees.  Essentially, the program is a monthly payment to keep a labor lawyer on retainer, should the need ever arise to seek legal counsel against your employer.  Typically, if a situation were to arise between you and your employer, to engage legal counsel would be upwards of 600,000 won with an additional 30% of the final decision if it it in your favor.  Unfortunately at the time when you may need a labor lawyer, it may be the hardest to come up with the retainer, particularly if your labor complaint is unpaid wages.  This program provides a type of insurance for legal services. 

For more information, please visit their website http://k-labor.com/tiki-index.php?page=Labor+Assurance&bl=n&saved_msg=y (English).   The website also contains a wide range of information on Korean labor laws in English.

Kangnam Labor Law Firm also consults free of charge at the Seoul Global Center on Monday Wednesday, and Friday from 2-5pm.  If you have questions about labor laws, you may visit our offices near City Hall Station (line 1 or 2, exit 4) or call 02-2075-4124 between 2-5pm.