He is one of the most popular faces in the industry.
Kang Hyung Wook, the most popular dog trainer in Korea, has been embroiled in a damning controversy.
Kang, the 38-year-old entrepreneur, owns Bodeum Company Ltd, a popular dog training and consulting firm. He is also a well-known TV personality, having appeared on different dog-related programs since 2014. Recently, it was reported that he would be shutting down his company’s operations, following which negative reviews started piling up on the local job-searching platform, Job Planet.
While initially, these claims were written off as baseless, when some of the accusers produced documents as proof of employment, the rumors started catching fire, drawing increasing media coverage. A former employee of Bodeum told JTBC that working under Kang left her extremely traumatized, and she had expected that his extreme mistreatment of workers would eventually be exposed.
Another former employee accused Kang of bullying her with harsh comments like “Stop breathing. It’s such a waste for you to breathe. You’re worse than pests, just crawl away. Just drop dead.” Other accusations posted on Job Planet include one that said Kang paid ₩9,670 KRW (about $7.09 USD) to an employee as their last paycheck. Kang and his wife are also accused of subjecting employees to “constant gaslighting and insult.”
A testimony said that the company forced employees to sign a written consent that gave the employers the power to access any content on the employees’ phone messengers. This claim was substantiated by a photo of the consent form dated 2018. Another online post claimed that Kang gifted them six cans of spam inside a dog poop bag as a holiday gift.
Kang was allegedly worse to male employees, his treatment of them likened to that of a slave.
As a popular dog trainer, Kang was the face of the KBS show Dogs Are Incredible. However, since the controversy broke, the network has not aired the latest episode. Currently, the producers are reportedly debating whether the show can continue to air.
So far, Kang has not publicly addressed these allegations. Since Tuesday, his company, Bodeum, has had its ratings on Job Planet drop to 1.8 stars out of 5.
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