The Ministry of Employment and Labor has decided to examine the 'worker status' in relation to the workplace harassment allegations surrounding the late MBC weathercaster Oh Yoanna. Attention is focused on whether a freelance weathercaster can be recognized as a worker, alongside MBC's internal investigation results.
On the 4th, the Ministry of Labor announced that it has initiated a preliminary investigation, including determining worker status, regarding the workplace harassment allegations against the late Oh Yoanna. It also issued administrative guidance to MBC to conduct its own investigation into the matter.
A Ministry official stated, "Workplace harassment cases are fundamentally required to undergo internal investigations, so we guided them to do so first. However, it is inappropriate to unilaterally trust and wait for the company's results," adding, "We will conduct preliminary work to examine the case by requesting related documents and other materials."
There have been circumstantial evidence and recordings indicating that the deceased suffered due to harassment from senior weathercasters. As a result, several individuals are being named as perpetrators and bystanders. The truth of the incident is expected to be revealed through the investigation conducted by the fact-finding committee established by MBC and the Ministry of Labor.
Regardless of the investigation results, the key issue is whether the deceased can be recognized as a worker. If the late weathercaster, who was a freelancer, is not recognized as a worker under the Labor Standards Act, then workplace harassment cannot be established.
Previously, Hani from the group NewJeans, a subsidiary of HYBE, claimed to have been subjected to workplace harassment and appeared at the National Assembly's audit last year. However, the Ministry of Labor's investigation concluded that Hani was not recognized as a worker, and thus workplace harassment could not be established, leading to the case being closed before any proper examination of the facts.
At that time, the Ministry of Labor stated that unlike employees of the agency, Hani was not subject to employment rules and internal norms, did not have fixed working hours or a designated workplace, and received profit distribution rather than wages for labor. Additionally, taxes on income were paid as business income tax rather than labor income tax, which led to the conclusion that Hani was not recognized as a worker.
However, in the case of weathercasters, there is a possibility of being recognized as workers, unlike Hani. This is because there have been instances in the past where freelancers were recognized as workers.
In January of last year, Lee Eun-joo, the wife of Shinhwa member Andy, won a lawsuit against KBS to confirm her status as a worker.
Lee Eun-joo joined KBS as a freelance weathercaster in 2015 and was assigned to announcer duties after undergoing internal tests and training in 2016. She was then dispatched to KBS Gangneung and KBS Chuncheon, and from December 2018, she signed a new contract with the dispatched regional station to perform announcer duties. However, in July 2019, she was excluded from announcer duties when new employees were hired.
Lee Eun-joo filed a lawsuit against KBS to confirm her status as a worker. The first trial ruled in favor of KBS, but the second trial stated, "Lee Eun-joo performed the same duties as regular announcers under considerable direction and supervision according to the assigned broadcast schedule. Considering that she shared schedules with regular announcers, it is reasonable to view her as effectively exclusive to KBS," ruling in favor of Lee Eun-joo. It also determined that although she was a fixed-term worker, her contract had been renewed for more than two years, leading to the conclusion that she had been converted to a permanent position, and KBS's termination of her contract was deemed wrongful dismissal. The Supreme Court also ruled in favor of Lee Eun-joo, resulting in a final victory.
Earlier, in December 2021, the Ministry of Labor announced the results of the 'Labor Inspection of Broadcast Writers at the Three Major Terrestrial Broadcasting Companies,' determining that 152 out of 363 individuals had worker status.
If the late Oh Yoanna is recognized as a worker, the possibility of being acknowledged as an industrial accident increases. There may also be potential investigations into violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act against MBC.
In this regard, the Ministry of Labor stated in a response sent to Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Yong-woo on the 5th, "If the workplace harassment death incident is deemed an industrial accident, an investigation into violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act will be conducted."
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
