Andy of Shinhwa's wife, announcer Lee Eun-ju, won a wage lawsuit against KBS, and KBS said it "respects the court's decision."
On the 24th, Judge Kim Dong-hyun of Seoul Southern District Court Civil Division 9 issued a partial judgment in favor of the plaintiff in a wage claim lawsuit filed by announcer Lee Eun-ju against KBS. The court found that KBS is obligated to pay unpaid wages of about 289.4 million won to announcer Lee Eun-ju.
Announcer Lee Eun-ju worked in a freelance employment capacity at KBS Gangneung Broadcasting Station and KBS Chuncheon Broadcasting Station from 2015. Hired as a freelance weather caster, she performed announcer duties from the following year, but after new announcers were hired in 2019 she was removed from all programs except the 1FM corner and excluded from duties.
In response, Lee Eun-ju filed a lawsuit to confirm employee status against KBS; the plaintiff lost in the first trial but won on appeal. The court reasonably judged that Lee Eun-ju performed the same duties as regular announcers and was effectively exclusive to KBS. It also found that because she worked for more than two years from 2015, she should have been converted to an indefinite-term contract, and KBS's exclusion from duties amounted to unfair dismissal. That ruling was finalized by the Supreme Court, and KBS reinstated Lee Eun-ju in January 2024. Lee Eun-ju was assigned to KBS Wonju Broadcasting Station.
However, thereafter Lee Eun-ju filed a lawsuit seeking wages she would have received had she worked normally during the roughly five-year dismissal period. She also argued that because she had performed duties substantially identical to those of regular announcers, her pay should be calculated based on the regular announcer (level 4) standard rather than the contract worker (level 7) standard.
KBS, on the other hand, argued that Lee Eun-ju was appointed after a relatively simplified screening compared with regular announcers and did not perform administrative duties that regular announcers do during their tenure, and therefore the level 7 pay standard should apply.
Meanwhile, the court sided with announcer Lee Eun-ju. The court said, "It can be seen that announcer Lee Eun-ju worked as a contract employee for more than three years and underwent ability verification comparable to a hiring test. After reinstatement she hosted the same programs as regular announcers, so there is no distinction in duties. The new announcer hired in her place was also appointed at level 4," and judged that treating Lee Eun-ju as level 7 was discrimination without reasonable cause.
In response to the court's decision, KBS told OSEN, "We respect the court's decision and will review the judgment before determining internal policy."
[Photo] OSEN DB
[OSEN]