My hagwon shut down owing me two months' salary and severance — I'm on an E-2, how do I get paid?

What the director did is both a labor law violation and, if he does not pay, a crime — and the fastest route is the labor office, not a lawsuit. Foreign employees have the same wage rights as Korean ones, the government fund you heard about is open to you, and none of it requires you to remain in Korea to the end. The visa question is real and separate, and it is the one to get advice on this week rather than next.

What this is under Korean law

Wages, severance and any contractual payments due on termination must be paid within fourteen days of the employment ending, under Article 36 of the Labor Standards Act (근로기준법, geullo gijun-beop). Severance pay (퇴직금, toejikgeum) accrues after one year of continuous service under the Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act; at fourteen months on a continued relationship, you have a claim. The return airfare is a contractual entitlement and is claimed alongside.

Non-payment of wages is a criminal offense under Article 109 of the Labor Standards Act — up to three years' imprisonment or a fine of up to KRW 30 million — punishable unless the employee expresses a wish not to prosecute. That last feature is why employers often pay once a labor office case is open.

How the process works in Korea

The first step is a complaint (진정, jinjeong) to the regional labor office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor. A labor inspector summons the employer, verifies the amounts, and orders payment. Many cases end there. If the employer still does not pay, the inspector issues a confirmation of unpaid wages (체불임금등 사업주 확인서, chebul imgeum deung saeopju hwaginseo) and the case can be sent for criminal prosecution.

That confirmation document unlocks the fund you heard about: the simplified wage guarantee payment (간이대지급금, gani daejigeupgeum) under the Wage Claim Guarantee Act. The government pays a capped portion of unpaid wages and severance directly to the employee and recovers from the employer. Foreign workers in lawful employment are eligible. Caps and windows apply — the application must be made within a set period after leaving employment — so file the labor office complaint promptly.

The civil route — a payment order (지급명령, jigeup myeongnyeong) or small claim — is for the balance above the cap, for the airfare, and for cases where the employer has assets worth pursuing. A lawyer can run both tracks in parallel.

Your situation as a foreign national

Your E-2 is tied to a sponsor that has ceased operating. That has consequences for how long you may remain and what you must report, and those consequences are decided by the Immigration Office. Do not assume you can simply stay through the labor case; do not assume you must leave immediately either. Get that specific question answered before your next payment is due. MEGA X handles the wage claim; on the status question, we coordinate with an immigration specialist as part of the matter.

Leaving Korea does not end your claim. The labor office complaint can be filed now and continued through counsel; a power of attorney (위임장, wiimjang) signed before you leave avoids notarization and apostille later. Keep a Korean bank account open to receive payment, and copy every document — contract, payslips, bank records, the closure announcement, the "soon" messages — before departure.

What to do now, and what not to do

Do not sign a "settlement" for less than you are owed in exchange for a promise of an airfare. Do not accept the director's framing of "temporary" closure; from the date wages stopped, the clock under Article 36 runs regardless. Do: file the labor office complaint this week, with the amounts itemized; request the closure documentation from the business registry; and ask other teachers to file at the same time — parallel complaints are handled together and move faster.

Practical insight

Teachers lose these claims by waiting. The fund has a filing window measured from the end of employment, and employers who have closed one hagwon frequently reopen under a different registration; the confirmation document from the labor office is what pins the liability to the person. The other loss is the airfare: it is contractual, not statutory, and is not covered by the fund, so it is the item most often written off. It is also usually recoverable if it is in the same complaint from day one.

We handle unpaid-wage claims for teachers who have already left Korea, and the first step — the itemized complaint — can be prepared remotely. Text consultation or +82-2-522-3959.

— MEGA X Law Firm Korea, Labor Team