Kids creator Haeyjiny speaks at a ceremony in 2022 where she was appointed as a promotional ambassador for children's environmental health. [Newsis]
Kids creator Haeyjiny speaks at a ceremony in 2022 where she was appointed as a promotional ambassador for children's environmental health. [Newsis]

A former employee of kids creator Haeyjiny — whose real name is Kang Hye-jin and who heads the company Kidsworks — has claimed that after suffering repeated seizures at the office, Haeyjiny suggested unpaid leave on the grounds that the episodes were unpleasant for other staff to witness.

The former employee, identified only as A, made the claim Thursday in a video titled "[Exclusive] Workers' Comp Documents Fabricated? Former Haeyjiny Employees Fire Back" posted to the YouTube channel Respect Lee Jin-ho. A said the period when Haeyjiny allegedly urged rest coincided with repeated seizures at work.

"Of course, part of the reason for suggesting I rest was that the seizures kept happening," A said. "But Haeyjiny clearly said it was also because showing that kind of behavior at the office was not good for other employees to see."

A said the unpaid leave began in mid-December 2018. "I thought I couldn't have other employees seeing me like that, so I accepted the unpaid leave," A said.

A also claimed that Haeyjiny later approached and offered 4 million won ($2,990) in exchange for not filing a workers' compensation claim.

According to A, Haeyjiny argued that filing a claim would hurt the company and suggested that since A was on unpaid leave and short on money, it would be better to accept the 4 million won and drop the claim.

A said the offer was refused because an approved workers' comp claim would entitle A to 70 percent of wages for the unpaid leave period. A then described what the company submitted to the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service.

"They said they would help and told me to ask for anything I needed — then, without a word of consultation, they sent documents to the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service attacking me," A said. "They even used a trip I had taken on my doctor's recommendation as treatment to use against me."

A also addressed allegations raised by some that the workers' comp documents made public had been fabricated. When questions emerged over whether garbled text in parts of the documents indicated they were AI-generated fakes, A explained: "The original paper I received was too messy after I went through and redacted my personal information one by one, so I asked ChatGPT to cover only my personal details. It seems the text got corrupted beyond just the parts covering my personal information."

Regarding Haeyjiny's official statement, A disputed the claim of a 25 percent salary increase, saying the annual salary rose only from 20 million won to 21 million won — a 5 percent raise. On the bonus paid during the leave period, A said it was a year-end payment distributed equally to all employees every year, and called it unfair that the statement portrayed it as a special payment made on A's behalf.

A said the decision to go public — seven years after the events — came after watching Haeyjiny appear last year on the KBS2 program "Sajangnim Gwineun Dangnaegwi," a variety show in which bosses hear candid feedback from employees. The video also featured another former employee whose time at the company did not overlap with A's, who claimed to have been hired at minimum wage and never received overtime pay.

Haeyjiny's side had issued an official statement Tuesday rebutting A's claims. Kidsworks said it was "genuinely sorry and regretful, beyond questions of fact, that someone who worked with us has lost their health and gone through such a difficult time," but maintained that A's salary had been raised 25 percent and that a separate bonus had been paid even during the leave.

The company also said it had encouraged A to stop working and rest whenever health difficulties arose, and that when A expressed intent to file a workers' comp claim in late 2018, it had connected A with an outside certified labor attorney to guide the process — denying that it had obstructed the filing in any way.


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