A Complete Summary of Heijini's Revelation Timeline! Labor Exploitation Controversy, Annual Salary of 20 Million Won

A complete summary of the controversy surrounding Heijini's revelation of labor exploitation by former employees! Easily check the timeline at a glance, from an annual salary of 20 million won, 16 hours of work per day, and recognition of industrial accidents, to call recordings and the second rebuttal withholding tax receipt.

 

1. First Revelation by a Former Employee: Working 16 Hours a Day for an Annual Salary of 20 Million Won?

The beginning of the incident is It started when A, a longtime friend and former employee of Heijini, posted on an online community.

 

It is said that A joined the launch of the Chinese channel in late 2016 at the suggestion of Heijini. Originally, they joined because they were asked to work together as creators, but In reality, it is said that he was doing everything himself, from writing the video script and translation to casting voice actors, directing dubbing, editing the video, and uploading to the channel.

 

Killer working hours: Working up to 16 hours a day, weekends and day and night

Extremely low compensation: Despite such heavy workload, the annual salary is around 20 million won.

Deterioration of health: Eventually diagnosed with severe panic disorder, major depression, and social anxiety.

Workers' Compensation Approval: In January 2020, the Korea Workers' Compensation Service officially recognized the claim as a work-related disease following a lengthy review.

 

A stated that the gap between the bright image portrayed on broadcast and the reality she experienced was so great that she wrote the post not to target a specific person, but to make known the actual poor working conditions and the suffering caused by industrial accidents.

2. Further revelations by Lie Eun: Abuse of the comprehensive wage system and filming right before leaving work

After the first exposé broke out, the controversy flared up as tips from other former employees poured in.

 

According to the testimony of another employee, Mr. B, although the media portrayed it as a "company with work-life balance and no overtime," in reality, virtually unlimited overtime exploiting the comprehensive wage system was the norm.

 

Taken 30 minutes before leaving work: It is all too common to start filming right before leaving work for an upload the next morning and work until the last train stops running.

No substitute holiday: No compensatory leave or overtime pay is provided for business trips or weekend/holiday work.

Giving disapproving looks for taxi fares and meal expenses for overtime work I had to get prior permission every time I took a taxi because the last train had stopped running, and I was given dirty looks if I spent money on meals.

Resignation Gaslighting: When I expressed my intention to resign, they undermined my self-esteem by trying to hold me back, saying things like, "You can't get anywhere with this experience," or "Stay for three more months for the handover."

3. Official Rebuttal Statement from Heijini's Side

As the controversy spiraled out of control, Heijini's side (KidsWorks) also issued an official statement and came forward to refute it head-on.

 

Normal wage payment and increase: The annual salary was paid without issue at the time of hiring, and later increased by 25%.

Flexible work arrangements: As it was the early stages of the company, we granted work autonomy and made arrangements such as adjusting working hours or allowing remote work.

Welfare Support: To ease the burden of overtime and commuting, we provided housing deposit support for residences near the company and paid bonuses even during leave of absence.

Industrial Accident Cooperation: We never obstructed the workers' compensation application; on the contrary, we introduced an external certified labor attorney to help facilitate the process.

The company took a stance implying they were being unfairly treated, claiming they did their best to provide consideration and support.

4. Public opinion overturned by release of call transcript

However, not long after the statement was released, the atmosphere completely reversed when an actual phone call recording between Heijini and victim employee A was revealed on a YouTube channel.

According to the recording, at the time of the industrial accident review, the company [addressed] the Korea Workers' Compensation Service ' I doubt if they are really sick I submitted a written opinion regarding the purpose. When A asked, "Did you include that phrase knowing full well that she went on the trip because the doctor said it would help with treatment?" Heijini answered without hesitation, "Yes." It was the voice acknowledging it exactly as it was.

In the previous statement Public criticism intensified as the circumstances directly contradicted the explanation that they "helped without interfering with the industrial accident."

5. All Employees' Receipt Fact Bomb: 2nd Rebuttal

Following the transcript, former employee A disclosed everything including the withholding tax receipt for earned income, email records, and the decision notice from the Corporation, along with a second statement refuting the company's statement point by point.

 

The Truth About a 25% Salary Increase

It was 20 million won when I joined, and it only went up to 21 million won once, so they said it was actually only a 5% increase. They pointed out that if it were 25%, it should have been 25 million won, so they demanded an explanation of what the standard was.

 

Never worked from home

Far from being accommodated for working from home, I was subjected to repeated long hours of overtime, and they even presented email records as evidence that I rented a laptop under the company's name and worked from my hospital bed while receiving inpatient treatment.

 

The Truth About Bonuses

I pointed out the facts that it was not a special incentive given as consideration during leave of absence, but merely a year-end bonus (2.2 million won) paid equally to all employees.

 

Retirement from unemployment benefits and illness

She revealed that a company executive (Haejini's husband) initially said, "Since we are on bad terms, I will arrange for you to receive unemployment benefits through a recommended resignation," but then changed his mind at the last minute and processed it as a "disease-related resignation," ultimately preventing her from receiving a single penny in unemployment benefits.

 

Certification of official industrial accident recognition documents

When some netizens raised suspicions of manipulation, the controversy was dismissed by additionally attaching an official notice of decision on medical care and insurance benefits from the Korea Workers' Welfare Service dated April 2020.

Frequently Asked Questions (Q&A)

Q1. Is it true that the industrial accident claims for the former Heijini employee were actually approved?

Yes, that is correct. Unlike fabricated rumors on the internet, panic disorder and major depression were officially approved as occupational diseases in January 2020 following a formal review by the Korea Workers' Compensation Service, and this is a fact verified even by the actual decision notification document.

 

Q2. Why is there conflicting information regarding the '25% salary increase' claimed by management?

The company announced a 25% raise, but according to withholding tax records disclosed by all employees, the salary increased by only 1 million won (5%), from 20 million won to 21 million won. The employees are demanding that the company disclose the basis for the 25% increase calculation.

 

Q3. What is the most controversial point in the transcript?

The company outwardly stated that they supported the workers' compensation claim and connected the employee with a labor lawyer, but behind the scenes, they submitted a rebuttal to the Corporation stating that they "doubted whether the employee was actually sick," and their credibility suffered a major blow when it was confirmed that Heijini herself directly admitted this during a phone call.

 

 

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