The mother of the late Oh Yo-an-na, who died last year from workplace harassment, reached an agreement with MBC and ended her hunger strike after 27 days.
On the 5th, the civic group Ending Credit told Workplace Bullying 119 that the bereaved family of the late Oh Yo-an-na reached a provisional agreement with MBC and will stop the hunger strike.
According to the provisional agreement, the family and MBC will hold a national press conference at MBC's Sangam-dong headquarters on the morning of the 15th to offer an apology for the deceased, promise measures to prevent recurrence and institutional improvements, and present an honorary employee certificate.
They will also set up a space to commemorate the deceased inside MBC headquarters by Sept. 15, 2026, abolish the existing weathercaster position and convert it to a full-time role as a weather and climate specialist. Compensation for the family will be agreed separately.
The late Oh Yo-an-na died on Sept. 14 last year, and news of her tragic death became known only three months later. A 17-page will found on her cellphone contained complaints about workplace harassment, causing social shock.
After the incident became known, the Ministry of Employment and Labor conducted a special labor inspection of MBC. Following the special inspection, MBC terminated the contract of person A, who was mentioned as the perpetrator, and decided to rehire the other three.
Separately from the Ministry of Employment and Labor's special labor inspection, MBC formed a fact-finding committee chaired by an external figure and began an investigation. However, since the Ministry of Employment and Labor has released the results of its special inspection, MBC said it will not announce the committee's own investigation results.
On the 8th, ahead of the late Oh Yo-an-na's first anniversary, her mother held a press conference in front of MBC's new building in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul, together with 44 organizations including broadcasting and press unions, demanding a public apology from MBC and measures to prevent recurrence, and began a hunger strike.
Afterward, MBC said it would abolish the freelance weathercaster system on the late caster's first anniversary. In response to this decision, the bereaved family, Ending Credit and Workplace Bullying 199 issued a joint statement protesting, saying MBC's announcement means it does not recognize the late Oh Yo-an-na caster's status as a worker at all. Above all, they argued that current weathercasters could be fired if they fail public recruitment competitions.
The bereaved family in particular pointed out that the mother had fasted to regularize the weathercaster position to prevent a second Oh Yo-an-na, but the result was that a colleague would be dismissed from MBC. The late Oh Yo-an-na's mother, who had continued the hunger strike, ended it after reaching a provisional agreement after 27 days.
[Photo] OSEN DB, SNS
[OSEN]