Another ex-employee of kids YouTuber Hey Jini's company alleges unpaid overtime, toxic workplace

A second former employee of Kidsworks — the company run by popular kids YouTuber Hey Jini, whose real name is Kang Hye-jin — has come forward with allegations that the company operated illegally, including denying compensatory days off and demanding unlimited overtime.

The new account follows an earlier disclosure by a different ex-employee who claimed to have worked up to 16 hours a day for an annual salary of 20 million won ($15,100).

The former employee, identified only as A, posted Tuesday on the online community Bobaedream, saying the earlier exposé had given them the courage to speak out. "I want to share the atmosphere and reality of when I worked there, around the 202X period," A wrote.

A said rumors about a colleague who had suffered a panic disorder were already circulating when they joined the company. "I heard the environment had changed after that incident, but in practice nothing felt different — it seemed like they were cleverly exploiting the situation just within the bounds of the law," A wrote, before listing a series of grievances.

Among them: employees who worked on weekends or public holidays received no compensatory time off, and coming in on regular weekdays after working a weekend was treated as a matter of course. "When we raised the issue with management, all we got were evasive answers like 'we'll look into it' — no real action was ever taken," A said.

A also alleged that while overtime was never explicitly ordered, workloads were so excessive that finishing on time was impossible, and staff were pressured to meet deadlines regardless. "Under the banner of a flat-rate wage system, there was no overtime pay, and it was commonplace to work until the last train stopped running," A wrote.

When the last train had already gone and employees needed to take a taxi home, A said they were required to seek prior approval each time. Management would then make pointed remarks such as "it looks like you're staying late on purpose" or "you've been taking too many taxis lately," A alleged.

A also claimed that employees who expressed a wish to resign were pressured into staying at least three more months for handover purposes, effectively delaying their departures.

The earlier allegations came from a former employee identified as B, who claimed to have worked up to 16 hours a day on an annual salary of 20 million won, with no days off on weekends or public holidays. B said they had single-handedly managed the production and operation of a Chinese-language channel before developing a panic disorder and depression in November 2018 due to severe work-related stress. B also released a notice showing that the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service recognized the condition as an occupational injury in 2020.