Former employee, in response to Heeji-ni's explanation, even releases withholding tax receipt… "25% salary raise? It only went up by 5%" [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

A former employee who worked at the company of kids YouTuber Heeji-ni (real name Kang Hye-jin), who has 4.13 million subscribers, made a claim regarding salary increases that differs from Heeji-ni's statement.

On the 27th, a post titled "The person involved's stance on Heeji-ni side's position paper" was published on an online community. The author of the post is a former employee who raised suspicions of labor exploitation by Heeji-ni and Heeji-ni's friend, Person A.

Person A released various documents, including a withholding tax receipt for employment income, a certificate of resignation due to illness, and a notification of decision on medical care benefits, to rebut the position presented by Heeji-ni's side the previous day.

Person A stated, "I do not deny any of the support the company provided me," adding, "It is true that they allowed me to take leave, and it is also true that I received support for the rental deposit," partially acknowledging Heeji-ni's side's claims.

However, Person A's stance is that the series of supports and the difficulties experienced in the work environment at the time are separate matters. In particular, regarding Heeji-ni's side's claim of a "25% salary increase rate," Person A countered, "It was not 25%, but a 5% raise."

Person A continued, "The annual salary I received when I joined the company was 20 million won, and during my tenure, it was raised only once to 21 million won. If the 20th million won annual salary had been increased by 25%, it should have become 25 million won," while releasing related documents such as the withholding tax receipt for employment income.

Person A also rebutted Heeji-ni's side's claim that remote work and adjustment of working hours were possible. Person A stated, "I never worked remotely during my tenure. Long overtime shifts were repeated, and it was frequent for me to leave work late at night."

There was also a disagreement regarding the payment of special bonuses. Person A revealed, "The company side first proposed unpaid leave. It was not a leave I chose because I wanted personal rest," while releasing details of the bonus received on December 28 during the leave period. They further claimed, "It was not an amount paid specially, but year-end bonuses paid to all employees at the time."

Person A also pointed out, "Heeji-ni's husband, who was a director of the company, suggested resignation by saying, 'Since our relationship has become uncomfortable, it would be difficult for us to work together going forward.' Initially, they agreed to process it as a recommended resignation, but ultimately, citing that it could harm other employees, I was processed as resigning due to illness and did not receive even a single won in unemployment benefits."

Previously, Person A revealed through an online community that they had been long-time friends with Heeji-ni and posted an exposé. Person A claimed that they started working after receiving a proposal from Heeji-ni in December 2012 to join as a creator for the Chinese-language channel, but in reality, they essentially handled the entire production and operation of the Chinese-language channel alone, including writing video scripts, translation, voice actor recruitment, dubbing direction, video editing, and uploading.

Person A claims that health problems arose due to excessive workload. Person A explained that they visited the emergency room in November 2018 due to shortness of breath during overtime work, and subsequently received diagnoses including panic disorder, depression, and social anxiety.

As the controversy spread, Heeji-ni's side rebutted on the 27th, stating, "We paid salaries without issue under the wage system at the time of joining nine years ago, and contrary to what is known, we raised the annual salary by 25%, and separately paid bonuses even during leave." They added, "In the early days of our founding, we operated by consulting with colleagues every time regarding the content and method of work. We broadly granted autonomy in work schedules and methods of execution. We allowed adjusting working hours or choosing remote work depending on the situation. If health was burdened, we continuously requested to rest through vacation/leave, stating it would be fine to reduce working hours or stop work schedules. Additionally, to reduce the burden of commuting, we supported the rental deposit for a residence near the company."

Regarding suspicions of obstructing workers' compensation applications, they explained, "We did not obstruct workers' compensation applications. At the end of 2018, respecting the opinion of the colleague in question who wanted to apply for workers' compensation, we introduced an external certified labor consultant so they could receive direct counseling and clearly guided them through the application process."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original