Kids creator Hey Jini. [YouTube capture]
Kids creator Hey Jini. [YouTube capture]

A former employee who alleged developing panic disorder and depression from overwork at the company of prominent kids creator Hey Jini (real name Kang Hye-jin) has pushed back against the company's response, saying it contained information that did not match the facts.

The former staffer, identified only as A, said Wednesday on an online community forum that A worked at Kidsworks, Hey Jini's agency, for two years starting in 2017. A published documents including a withholding tax receipt for earned income, a certificate of resignation due to illness and a notice related to an industrial accident claim, using them to rebuff the company's explanations point by point.

Earlier, after A alleged earning 20 million won ($15,000) annually while working shifts of up to 16 hours and developing mental illness as a result, Kidsworks said it had raised A's salary by 25 percent during the period of employment and had provided various accommodations, including flexible working hours, a leave of absence, bonus payments and support for a rental deposit.

In a follow-up statement, A said the starting salary of 20 million won was raised only once during employment — to 21 million won — amounting to a 5 percent increase, not 25 percent, and called on the company to explain how it arrived at that figure. A also said that, contrary to the company's claim of offering remote work and adjusted hours, remote work was never provided, late-night overtime recurred repeatedly, and A even handled work tasks on a borrowed laptop while hospitalized.

On the company's claim that a bonus was paid during the leave of absence, A said the company itself first proposed unpaid leave in mid-December 2018 after repeated panic attacks at the workplace made normal duties impossible. A said 2.69 million won was deposited by the company on Dec. 28 of that year, covering both the December salary and a bonus, with the bonus portion totaling 2.2 million won — and that the bonus was a year-end payment made to all employees at the time.

A also alleged that the company had agreed to classify the departure as a recommended resignation so that unemployment benefits could be received, but that it was ultimately recorded as a resignation due to illness, leaving A ineligible for those benefits. A said that after Hey Jini's husband, who was a company director at the time, suggested it would be difficult to continue working together, A agreed to leave on the condition that the departure be treated as a recommended resignation. The company later said, after consulting a labor attorney, that doing so could affect other employees and that the departure would have to be recorded as illness-related instead.

"My panic disorder and depression were severe at the time, and I had no strength left to fight the company again or take action to correct the reason for my resignation — so I ultimately had no choice but to accept the situation as it was," A said. "As a result, it was recorded as a resignation due to illness, and I was unable to receive unemployment benefits."

A said the industrial accident was officially recognized in January 2020 due to panic disorder and depression, adding: "It is true that the company allowed me to take a leave of absence and provided support for a rental deposit, but the fact that such support existed is a separate matter from the difficulties I experienced in the work environment at the time."


betterj@heraldcorp.com