One month after MBC abolished weathercasters, a "weather analyst" took over the news segment.
On the 3rd, in MBC's Newsdesk weather segment, weather analyst Yoon Tae-gu appeared to introduce the total lunar eclipse that coincided with the first full moon of the lunar year and tomorrow's weather.
Earlier, on Feb. 8, MBC abolished the "weathercaster" position that had continued for 31 years and terminated contracts with freelance weathercasters including Lee Hyun-seung, Kim Ga-young, Choi A-ri and Geum Chae-rim. Instead, it announced plans to create a new regular position called "weather and climate expert" and to deploy professional personnel who would handle not only weather forecasting but also reporting and producing reports.
After contracts with freelance weathercasters ended, anchors had filled in with weather forecasts for about a month, and on that day weather analyst Yoon Tae-gu stood in front of the camera for the first time. He greeted viewers, saying, "I will explain weather information to viewers in an easy and detailed way going forward."
Weather analyst Yoon Tae-gu graduated from the atmospheric sciences department at Monash University in Australia and holds a certified weather forecaster qualification. His background as a former air force weather officer also drew attention.
In his first broadcast, Analyst Yoon explained the total lunar eclipse that coincided with the first full moon of the lunar year for the first time in 36 years. He explained the concept, saying, "A total lunar eclipse appears when the sun, Earth and moon are aligned and the moon enters Earth's shadow. Right now the moon is completely inside Earth's shadow."
After explaining the timing of the total lunar eclipse, he added, "You can look up at the sky after watching the news." His clear yet professional delivery is receiving praise.
Meanwhile, the reason the MBC weathercaster position disappeared was the workplace bullying case involving the late Oh Yo-anna, who died in Sept. 2024. News of her death became public only three months later, and the 17 pages of suicide notes found on her mobile phone, which contained accounts of being subjected to workplace bullying by colleagues, shocked the public.
When allegations of workplace bullying surfaced, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) conducted a special labor inspection of MBC in May of last year and said, "There was bullying within the organization." However, because weathercasters were contract-based, they were not recognized as workers under the Labor Standards Act to which the "regulations on workplace bullying" apply, which meant that while the behavior could be considered bullying, it was regrettable that it could not be regarded as "workplace" bullying under the law.
MBC and the bereaved family held a joint press conference in Oct. of last year, and President Ahn Hyung-joon officially apologized for the workplace bullying issues raised by the bereaved family.
[Photo] Broadcast capture
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