"Are you jealous because I'm doing well?"… Haeji Jini: Why aren't her '5 million loyal subscribers' leaving? [★FOCUS]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

YouTuber Haeji Jini has been embroiled in a "labor exploitation controversy" regarding a former employee, yet her subscribers appear to be rallying behind her instead.

On the 31st, the YouTube channel "Haeji Jini," operated by Haeji Jini, still boasted of 4.13 million subscribers, while her sub-channel "Hyejin-ss" maintained 970,000 readers.

Although the labor exploitation controversy involving a former employee first gained significant traction on the 27th, the channel has shown no loss of subscribers over the five days since then.

Several subscribers left comments on Haeji Jini's YouTube videos stating, "Think about why someone is bringing up something that happened about 10 years ago now. There's no reason to suddenly bring up an old incident without cause. Whether the former employee holds a grudge against Hyejin or has some financial need, I firmly believe there is a motive," and "It seems like they are just feeling inferior because she is doing so well."

Others also commented, "Those who have watched Hyejin-ss's videos for a long time know that Hyejin has very good relationships with the people around her and maintains them well over time. Even in this video where you are commenting, you can see that she took care of her PD's birthday and is clearly close to her staff," and "When she was pregnant, her employees wrote her a roll paper (a book of messages). Watching other videos where the staff appear, they don't look unfriendly. I'm curious why this 10-year-old incident is being brought up now. I don't know; I remain neutral."

On the other hand, critical responses toward Haeji Jini also emerged, including "Properly compensate them with money and apologize," "People are precious," "Have some conscience," and "You have to take good care of those around you to last long."

The controversy surrounding Haeji Jini was re-examined after A, a former employee who is also her friend, claimed that she "was diagnosed with panic disorder while working at Haeji Jini's company and, after approximately one year of workers' compensation application procedures, was recognized as having suffered an occupational injury."

A stated that she handled all tasks necessary for producing and operating the Chinese-language channel alone, repeatedly working long overtime hours and on weekends, earning an annual salary of 20 million won in 2017 and 2018 while working up to 16 hours a day.

She shared, "I worked overtime until dawn every day and had to work on weekends more than five times a month. I could not take breaks during the Lunar New Year holiday or the Chuseok (Harvest Moon Festival) holiday." She added, "In November 2018, while working overtime at the company, I suddenly couldn't breathe properly and began gasping heavily, eventually going to the emergency room. I was diagnosed with panic disorder, depression, and social anxiety."

She further stated, "Severe episodes continued at the company in December of that year as well, and the company suggested unpaid leave, telling me to rest and come back." She said, "After I applied for workers' compensation, the company claimed it could not acknowledge a connection between my work and my panic disorder. The document even contained content suggesting they doubted whether I was actually ill, citing the fact that I had traveled during my time off."

A stated that her panic disorder deteriorated rapidly and she even attempted extreme measures, but ultimately received an occupational injury determination from the Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service in January 2020, one year later.

In response, Haeji Jini's side explained, "There were no issues with the salary system at the time of her hiring nine years ago, and we paid her annual salary accordingly. Contrary to what has been reported, we raised her salary by 25% afterward, and we separately paid a bonus even during her leave." They added, "In the early days of our founding, we operated by consulting with colleagues every time regarding the content and execution methods of assigned tasks. We granted broad autonomy over work schedules and performance methods. Depending on the situation, we allowed adjustments to working hours or the option of remote work."

Subsequently, A refuted Haeji Jini's side's position by releasing various documents, including a withholding tax receipt for employment income, a certificate of resignation due to illness, and a notification of decision regarding medical and nursing care benefits.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original