A former employee of the company behind popular children’s YouTube channel Hey Jini has accused it of imposing excessive workloads and disputing her occupational injury claim after she developed panic disorder.
The woman, identified by the pseudonym Kim Min-hee, said she had worked long hours producing and managing the company’s Chinese-language channel. She said the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service had recognized her condition as work-related.
The Hey Jini channel, created by Kang Hye-jin, has 4.13 million subscribers and features content for children.
The company previously disputed Kim’s account, telling local media that her duties were agreed upon and that flexible arrangements, including working from home, were available. Kim said she had never worked from home.
Kim described her experience in a post on the online community Bobaedream on Oct. 21. She said she had been friends with Kang, who proposed in December 2016 that they work together on a Chinese-language channel.
Kim said she began working with the company regularly in 2017 and was later left to handle the channel’s production and management on her own. Her work included preparing scripts, translation, dubbing and editing, as well as uploading videos and managing the channel.
She said she worked up to 16 hours a day and on more than five weekend days a month, while earning an annual salary of 20 million won ($15,000).
In November 2018, Kim said, she had difficulty breathing while working overtime and was taken to an emergency room. She was later diagnosed with panic disorder, depression and social anxiety, she said.
Kim said the company initially offered to help with her occupational injury application, but later submitted an opinion to the workers’ compensation agency disputing the connection between her illness and her work. She alleged that the company questioned whether she was ill, citing a trip she had taken while on leave.
Her condition was recognized as work-related in 2020 after a lengthy application process, according to Kim. Local news outlet Sisa Journal reported in August that it had reviewed a decision notice from the compensation agency.
Kim said she continued to struggle after her illness was recognized and remains in treatment. She also said she had attempted suicide in 2020.
In her post, Kim described being distressed by a television program that portrayed Kang as a considerate employer. She said that image differed from the working conditions she had experienced. The program aired in 2020, after Kim’s period of employment.
The company told local media earlier this year that Kim’s work had been arranged through mutual agreement and that she had considerable autonomy. Kim disputed that account, saying her requests for additional staff had not been accepted.
Kim said she wrote the post to share her experience of the working conditions and the process of applying for occupational injury compensation.
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