After the death of the late Oh Yo-anna and the ensuing controversy, MBC's weathercaster system has disappeared into history. As the bereaved family continues a long hunger strike and demands measures to prevent recurrence, the broadcaster has abolished the freelance weathercaster system and terminated contracts with all of them.
Earlier, in October last year, a joint press conference by MBC and the bereaved family was held at the Golden Mouse Hall in MBC's Sangam-dong building in Seoul. President Ahn Hyung-joon offered an official apology and posthumously named the deceased an honorary employee, and said, "We will change the organizational culture so that this never happens again." The company promised to create a post for a coexistence and cooperation officer, set up a grievance handling channel including for freelancers, and strengthen workplace bullying prevention training.
The deceased's mother said, "Preventing recurrence is most important," and urged improvement of the structural problems of freelancers and nonregular workers. She reached a provisional agreement after a 27-day hunger strike and stressed, "This must not end with hollow measures."
The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) judged in a special labor inspection that "there was workplace bullying within the organization," but said there are limits to applying the 'workplace bullying rules' because the individuals were not recognized as workers under the Labor Standards Act. The bereaved family has filed a damages lawsuit against a colleague identified as the perpetrator.
-freelancer system abolished → 'weather and climate specialist' regular hires
In September last year, the one-year anniversary of the deceased's death, MBC announced it would abolish the freelance weathercaster system and hire "weather and climate specialists" as regular employees. The company said existing personnel could also apply, but there were frictions during the transition. The bereaved family expressed concern, saying, "We fought for regularization, but it should not result in colleagues losing their jobs," and questioned whether the system's purpose was to improve treatment or to carry out restructuring.
-Keum Chae-rim and others all have contracts terminated… visible changes on the ground
Meanwhile, on Feb. 9, MBC said that contracts with existing freelance weathercasters had ended. The list included Keum Chae-rim, Lee Hyun-seung, Kim Ga-young, and Choi A-ri. The company said, "New hires will undergo on-the-job training and be gradually put on air."
Keum Chae-rim posted on social media, "For about five years I delivered the weather with a fluttering heart. I'm sad to part with a job I loved, but I will prepare for another beginning." She is known to have joined the company at the same time as the late Oh Yo-anna.
"Preventing recurrence" vs. "job extinction"… divergent views
The company emphasizes preventing recurrence and improving organizational culture, but some criticize that "the abolition of the system led to the loss of jobs for existing personnel." Others defend the move as an unavoidable system change after an event that exposed the vulnerability of the freelance structure.
The late Oh Yo-anna incident is seen as revealing not only an individual's tragedy but also the freelance employment structure in the broadcasting industry and blind spots in labor protection. Attention is focused on how promised recurrence-prevention measures will operate on the ground and whether the system change will lead to substantive improvement.<
[Photo] 'OSEN DB, SNS source
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