Controversy Over 'Annual Salary 25 Million' Kang Min-kyung Spent 700,000 Won Headsets for All Employees

Passion Pay Controversy Overcome, High-Value Gift Sparks Attention

Kang Min-kyung, a member of the singer duo Davichi who sparked controversy over 'passion pay' by offering a minimum wage-level annual salary while hiring experienced staff for her clothing brand, recently became a hot topic on the 11th after it was revealed that she gifted all employees high-end headsets worth over 700,000 won.

On the 9th, a video titled "Working, Eating, Drinking, and Breaking the Gold Button" was uploaded on the YouTube channel 'Gyangmingyeong'.

According to the video, Kang Min-kyung gave Bluetooth headsets to employees to celebrate the completion of the new office building construction.

Through subtitles, she said, "Since most people seem to have AirPods, I splurged on the Max," adding, "I'm going to wear these stylishly and take a group photo."

She took commemorative photos posing in front of the new office building wearing matching uniforms with the staff. Kang Min-kyung even demonstrated the photo poses herself.

The headset Kang Min-kyung gifted to all employees is the Apple AirPods Max. It features 'Active Noise Cancelling' (ANC), which blocks surrounding noise, allowing comfortable conversations with others without taking off the headset.

Kang Min-kyung (center) wearing matching headsets with employees of her clothing brand, posing for a photo in front of the new office building.
[Photo source: Screenshot from 'Gyangmingyeong' YouTube]

Beyond its functional level, the headset is also popular as a 'fashion item.'

Meanwhile, in January, Kang Min-kyung faced 'passion pay' controversy after offering an annual salary of 25 million won while hiring experienced CS staff with over three years of experience and a college degree in a shopping mall job posting.

Afterward, she apologized and said she would adjust the starting salary for new employees to 30 million won, and expressed her hope to become a company everyone wants to work for, even consulting a labor attorney to review the job posting details.

At the end of last year, Kang Min-kyung purchased a building worth about 6.5 billion won located in Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, and recently completed remodeling work. She is using this building as the shopping mall's office.