“I am a loyal viewer of ‘MBC News’ and always watch it on time, but it is so hard to keep watching until the end. It is painful even to see their faces; how long do we have to listen to the voices of the perpetrators?”
Since the allegations of workplace bullying against the late Oh Yoanna became public, a flood of circumstantial evidence and testimonies has emerged, yet the MBC weathercasters identified as perpetrators remain silent, offering neither a statement nor an apology.
Park Ha-myung, identified as the main perpetrator of Oh Yoanna's workplace bullying, hosted the scheduled ‘News Today’ weekend weather news, while another accused, Choi Ah-ri, continues to present ‘News Today’ weekday news. Not only these two, but Lee Hyun-seung and Kim Ga-young also appeared on ‘930 MBC News’ and ‘12 MBC News’ to deliver the weather forecast. The MBC YouTube channel ‘Today’s Rain?’ has also made no changes, merely editing out the relevant parts of the news. It seems they only blocked comments, as if aware of public opinion, but the issue of ‘workplace bullying’ has not stopped their news duties.
As demands for the perpetrators to step down pour in, how long must viewers endure watching the ‘suspected perpetrators’ continue their news broadcasts, dressed in pretty clothes and smiling brightly, as if nothing has happened?
Last September, the name of Oh Yoanna, who suddenly passed away at the age of 28, began to resurface after four months. At that time, the cause of death was unknown, but recently, as the password to Oh Yoanna's phone was unlocked, the ‘Pandora's box’ that should never have been opened for the identified perpetrators revealed the reason for her death.
Inside the unlocked phone of the deceased, there was a 17-page letter detailing her experiences of workplace bullying, and it is reported that a recording file was also found, indicating that she had informed an MBC official about her suffering before her death. According to the letter, a senior weathercaster made a false report and blamed it on her, while another senior weathercaster criticized her for daring to point out incorrect information, saying, “How dare a junior criticize a senior.” Furthermore, it was revealed that she was called to the office after working hours under the pretext of “needing to teach her,” and numerous messages and voice recordings criticizing her for lacking skills were also discovered.
The public was outraged upon hearing this news, but MBC has maintained a passive stance in addressing the allegations since they became public. Initially, when the incident was reported, they denied it, stating, “The deceased never informed the relevant department or the management responsible for her about her difficulties while working,” and expressed concerns about “forces attempting to shake MBC” without knowing the exact facts, further worsening public sentiment by dismissing workplace bullying as mere ‘MBC shaking.’ This led some to question whether there was an issue with Oh Yoanna's conduct, ultimately resulting in MBC participating in tarnishing the deceased's reputation a second time.
Meanwhile, more evidence of workplace bullying has come to light. In a group chat excluding Oh Yoanna and her peer Geum Chae-rim, comments about her included, “She’s completely crazy. Let’s leave the group chat,” “She smells,” “Another X,” “(‘The Glory’) Yeon-jin did well on air,” “Victim cosplay. We are the victims,” among others.
Ultimately, on the 31st of last month, MBC changed its stance, announcing, “We have decided to form a fact-finding committee chaired by an external expert to clarify the cause and truth behind the death of the late Oh Yoanna,” and stated that the investigation had begun, but they could not rectify the public sentiment that had already turned. Most importantly, despite MBC's statement that they would actively discuss adding a person recommended by the bereaved family to the fact-finding committee to ensure a satisfactory investigation result, the continued appearances of the weathercasters identified as perpetrators have led to disappointment and a decline in trust towards the broadcasting station.
In fact, on viewer bulletin boards, comments such as “Quickly fire the demon weathercasters,” “Why are they silent?” “Perpetrators should face the consequences of their words and actions,” “I have been watching MBC News, but I switched to another broadcaster because it made me uncomfortable. It really angers me to see their faces on screen,” “While pretending to be righteous, don’t they feel guilty? This is just a viewer's opinion asking to quickly find those who have sinned and clear the deceased's grievances, not an attempt to shake MBC,” and “The weather forecasts from the perpetrators are horrifying” have been pouring in.
There are also many opinions calling for accountability for workplace bullying and bystanders, demanding that the perpetrators clearly apologize and state their positions, with some suggesting that if manpower is needed, they should rather use AI or broadcast instead, and others increasingly demanding that MBC either use other weathercasters or find alternative ways to report the weather news.
Amidst this public outrage, the main perpetrator, identified as A, is reportedly in the process of hiring a lawyer and organizing their position regarding the civil lawsuit from the bereaved family. The bereaved family expressed their frustration, stating, “We were prepared to forgive in the name of Oh Yoanna, hoping that (the perpetrator) would acknowledge their wrongdoing, but there has been no apology,” adding, “However, we understand that they have hired a lawyer for legal action.”
The allegations of workplace bullying against Oh Yoanna have now reached the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The Ministry announced that the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office and the Seoul Western Office would jointly form a special labor supervision team to begin special supervision of MBC starting today (the 11th).
The Ministry plans to verify the facts regarding the bullying allegations and assess the overall organizational culture of MBC while looking into any violations of labor laws.
[Geum Bit-na, MK Sports Reporter]
