Inside IICOMBINED: Gentle Monster Designers Allege 70-Hour Weeks and Toxic Labor Practices

76 hours a week. This isn't a figure from a century ago, but a reality recorded by a designer at IICOMBINED, the parent company behind global trendsetters Gentle Monster and Tamburins. While the brands project a sophisticated and avant-garde image to the world, internal testimonies paint a starkly different picture of grueling labor and systemic overwork.

Allegations of Excessive IICOMBINED Gentle Monster Working Conditions

According to a report by Maeil Labor News, current and former designers have come forward alleging that they were subjected to work weeks exceeding 70 hours. The crux of the issue lies in the alleged misuse of the 'discretionary work system.' Workers claim that while they were officially under this system—which exempts employers from paying overtime in exchange for employee autonomy—they actually had zero discretion over their schedules or tools, making the setup a shield for unpaid labor.

Interviews revealed that one designer worked overtime every single day for two months, save for two days. The mental and physical toll was immense; employees reported taking anti-anxiety medication and seeking IV drips to cope with the exhaustion. Despite a standard contract specifying 47.5 hours per week, logs showed peaks of 76 and 73 hours, including one instance of working for 26 consecutive hours.

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Corporate Denial Meets Employee Resistance

IICOMBINED has strongly denied these claims. The company stated that their instructions were within labor ministry guidelines and that allegations of excessive workloads or withheld compensation are false. They maintained that they did not issue orders that undermined the intended discretion of the system.

Designers hit back, describing a culture of 'personal sacrifice' where a complete overhaul of hundreds of designs could be ordered overnight by the CEO, rendering any personal time management impossible. Many felt they could not even miss a single deadline without facing immense pressure, leading to clinical diagnoses of depression and anxiety.