It has emerged that the operator of the learning application "Part Time Study," which is embroiled in a "eat-and-run controversy," prepared a bankruptcy-related notice on its website starting 10 days before shutting down the service. That contradicts the fact that it did not block user deposits even on the day the service was halted.
Source code for the Part Time Study website uploaded to the developer collaboration platform GitHub on the 28th shows records that a "creditor registration" page was created starting on the 13th of this month. Phone number verification and fields to enter a name and the size of the deposit were subsequently added.
On the 18th, the phrase "In relation to the bankruptcy of Studywork (the operator), creditors who hold monetary claims against the company should follow the creditor registration procedure below" was inserted into the code.
On the 21st, the notice title and content were revised to "(Important) Notice of Part Time Study service termination and planned corporate bankruptcy filing," among others. All of this happened before the abrupt suspension of the Part Time Study service on the 24th.
Part Time Study operated by having users put down deposits and, if they achieved their study goals, returning the deposit with additional prize money. Because it motivated studying, the number of users quickly grew among test takers and job seekers.
However, as the operator Studywork entered bankruptcy proceedings, user deposits were frozen along with the service suspension. Posts continue to appear from test takers claiming damages of 100,000 to 900,000 won per person in deposits. An open KakaoTalk chat room where Part Time Study victims have gathered has surpassed 2,000 participants.
The Songpa Police Station in Seoul, which launched a preliminary inquiry into a case related to Part Time Study received through the national petition portal, converted it to a formal investigation on this day on suspicion of fraud.
To hear its position, we visited the Studywork office in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the same day, but the lights were off and the door was closed. Companies on the same floor said they saw office staff there as late as the 24th, when the Part Time Study service was halted, but not since.
Chief Executive An Jun-yong of Studywork said in a website notice, "I sincerely apologize to all of you who are experiencing great loss, inconvenience and anger due to the suspension of the Part Time Study service and delayed refunds of deposits."
An added, "Including the procedures currently underway, I am faithfully cooperating with all investigations regarding the company and myself, and I will continue to cooperate with legal procedures within the scope requested."