Amid clarifications by popular kids creator "Hey Jini" (Kang Hye-jin), who boasts 4.1 million subscribers, denying allegations of labor exploitation and stating she "never obstructed a former employee's application for industrial accident compensation," the controversy is escalating as a phone recording contradicting the company's explanation has been released.

According to the recording revealed through a YouTube channel, a former employee, A, asked, "Did the company submit an opinion letter of non-recognition regarding the trip you took for medical treatment during your leave, questioning whether you were actually sick?" to which Hey Jini replied, "Yes."

Previously, employee A, who stated they are a former employee of Kids Works, the company run by Hey Jini, exposed that they were diagnosed with panic disorder and depression due to long working hours of up to 16 hours a day on an annual salary of around 20 million won, alongside excessive workloads.

A claimed that during the process of obtaining industrial accident recognition in 2020, the company obstructed the application by submitting an opinion letter denying the connection between work and the illness, and proposing to give 4 million won in exchange for dropping the industrial accident application.

In response, the company released an official statement, refuting the claims by saying, "We never obstructed the industrial accident application and guided them through the procedure by introducing an external certified labor attorney."

Meanwhile, additional exposures followed.

Person B, who identified themselves as a former employee, posted a confirmation certificate of four major public insurances on an online community yesterday.

B went on to mention situations such as failing to provide substitute holidays for weekend work, being forced to work until the last train stopped due to deadlines, and having to endure pressure and subtle glances while being told "it seems like you are staying up late on purpose" during the taxi fare approval process.

Despite Hey Jini's explanation, the controversy surrounding labor exploitation and obstruction of industrial accident claims is expected to continue for a while, fueled by the release of the recording between the parties and subsequent exposures.

Reported by Lee Hyeon-yeong | Video by Na Hong-hee | Graphics by Lee Su-min | Produced by SBS Digital News