Heeji Jini, Offloading Children to Employees and "Watching On"… Labor Exploitation Controversy Escalates as 'Bullying' Exposed [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

As kids creator Heeji Jini (real name Kang Hye-jin) becomes embroiled in a labor exploitation controversy, the dispute is intensifying as footage has surfaced showing her engaging in 'bullying' behavior, such as offloading private matters like childcare onto her employees.

On the 24th, a video titled "The Day My Life's Biggest Dopamine Burst (Making Jjapjeongseon, Company Picnic)" was uploaded to Heeji Jini's personal YouTube channel, 'Hyejinss'.

Heeji Jini went on a picnic to a park located in Seoul Yongsan-gu with her daughter, son, and company employees.

She spotted the employees from afar and said, "You should run over." She then naturally handed the stroller to the employees, saying, "Push it, who's up?" A caption followed, reading, "It was nice that we naturally started using Toss as soon as we met."

Some employees laid out picnic mats in the park, while others took care of Heeji Jini's daughter and son. Heeji Jini filmed the scene and merely watched from a distance.

Heeji Jini also inserted a caption stating, "Roles are divided naturally. Three people in charge of setting up the picnic mats, two dedicated to marking Park Seung-yu (son), one dedicated to marking Park Chae-yu (daughter). It's nice to see everyone doing their best in their respective positions." In particular, a caption appeared reading, "I'm watching from afar kyur~^^".

One PD chased after Heeji Jini's children as they ran around the park, while other employees moved to bring food to eat at the park.

Meanwhile, recently, Person A, who is a long-time friend of Heeji Jini and a former employee of her company Kidswork, exposed unfair treatment they received at the company.

Person A stated that they began working after receiving an invitation from Heeji Jini in December 2012 to join as a creator for a Chinese-language channel. However, they claimed that in reality, they essentially handled the entire production and operation of the channel alone, including writing video scripts, translation, voice actor recruitment, dubbing direction, video editing, and uploading.

Person A explained that after signing a contract with an annual salary of 20 million won, it was raised to 21 million won, but they worked up to 16 hours a day without separate overtime pay. They also claimed that in November 2018, they visited the emergency room due to shortness of breath during overtime work, and subsequently received diagnoses of panic disorder, depression, and social anxiety.

In response, Kidswork stated, "In the early days of our founding, we operated by consulting with colleagues every time regarding the content and methods of their assigned duties, and granted broad autonomy in work schedules and execution methods. We allowed them to adjust working hours depending on the situation or choose remote work." The company added, "To reduce the burden of commuting, we also supported the security deposit for housing near the company."

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

Meanwhile, Heeji Jini married in 2018 and has one son and one daughter.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original