Allegations have emerged that the late MBC weathercaster Oh Yo-an-na passed away due to workplace bullying. Amidst accusations against senior weathercasters, Jeong Hye-soo, who was a classmate of these individuals, has drawn attention for a post she wrote in the past.
Recently, a post titled “A post by Jeong Hye-soo, who passed the MBC new weathercaster exam in 2018 but was fired without ever broadcasting” has become a hot topic in online communities.
In the post, Jeong Hye-soo stated, “I passed the broadcasting station I prepared for over five years… I received a verbal notice of termination on the same day,” adding, “‘You won’t be able to do anything,’ is what the team leader said to me on the day I was notified of my termination. ‘I don’t even know why I have to say this. I’m not in HR… Oh, but since you didn’t sign a contract, I guess there’s no need for HR to say anything.’”
She continued, “I tried to comfort myself with the thought that it would make me stronger… but because of the saying that it would only harm me to let the world know… I still feel sorry for myself as I wake up every hour while sleeping.”
Jeong Hye-soo worked for five years, gaining experience in various regions, aiming for a terrestrial broadcasting station, and received a final acceptance notice from MBC after going through a formal hiring process that included documents, interviews, and executive interviews. She explained, “Although it was a freelance hiring, there were official job postings and exam schedules on the website. I received a call and email of acceptance through HR. There was no mention in the acceptance notice that my acceptance could be canceled during training.”
Jeong Hye-soo also mentioned, “The training was not smooth. Since four people were accepted, the contracts of three existing seniors were canceled, so I must have been a thorn in the eyes of the departing seniors,” referring to the abnormal hiring situation. She added, “I can’t confidently say my skills were perfect. I was a newcomer… I must have made many mistakes. However, I never caused any damage to the broadcasting station due to a mistake during training.”
Jeong Hye-soo was deemed unfit because she was lying in the duty room before work hours (9 AM). She recounted, “As usual, I arrived at work by 6 AM, and after finishing my work preparations, when my classmates suggested going for coffee, I said I would lie down for a bit due to menstrual cramps,” adding, “‘Is this a joke? Isn’t it said that the worst candidates were selected? Don’t take this lightly. Didn’t you not sign a contract? We’ll see how well you do.’ A senior entered the duty room and said this to me and my classmates.”
After being sidelined, Jeong Hye-soo was not given any tasks and ended up looking for papers on behalf of a busy classmate A. She first handed the papers to her classmates, but classmate B said, “Didn’t the team leader think well of you for organizing this well and being so precise? It would be good to organize this more systematically and give it to the team leader,” and Jeong Hye-soo placed the organized papers on the team leader’s desk.
However, the team leader was not pleased with the content and got angry at classmate A, who was originally assigned the task. After realizing that Jeong Hye-soo was the one who brought the papers, the team leader threw the papers at her, saying, “What the hell are you doing? Why are you ruining the atmosphere? I assigned this to A, so why are you doing it? Did you want to put A in a difficult position? This is putting A in a difficult position. Moreover, it’s also putting B in a difficult position. Did you think I would favor you for this? If I were you, I would have given it to my classmates first. You should have given it to them first. I’m really disappointed in you. You’re really a scary person.”
Jeong Hye-soo mentioned that the team leader usually taught that when classmates were busy, they should help each other, and that any assignments she submitted should be printed out multiple times and given to her classmates and placed on their desks. However, she said, “I gave it to my classmates first the day before. I just shed tears, fearing that I would be seen as making excuses. The next day, I received a notice of termination.”
The next day, the team leader called Jeong Hye-soo and informed her, “The higher-ups said they won’t contract with you. What will you do?” When Jeong Hye-soo asked why the contract was not possible, the team leader replied, “Are the higher-ups asking for a report on you?” and “This job isn’t right for you. It may be hard now, but in the long run, this will be better for you. It’s better than working and not having your contract renewed.”
She added, “When I asked for another chance, saying I would fix things, the team leader asked, ‘Do you really think it’s just a problem with the video?’ implying that an unclear and subjective evaluation, rather than an objective evaluation standard, was at play. I still don’t know the reason.”
She continued, “They wouldn’t even fire a part-timer like this,” stating, “Although I didn’t sign a contract, I received an employee ID and service confirmation. Freelancers are said not to be recognized as workers. However, since I went through the hiring process, they say I can’t be considered a freelancer. They told me that it’s against the principle of good faith to notify me of termination in this way and suggested I file a lawsuit. I thought about seeking advice and called the representative number of a large law firm, but the response was, ‘We can’t advise you as we have a consulting relationship with that broadcasting station.’ There’s really nothing an individual can do against a large terrestrial broadcasting station.”
Finally, Jeong Hye-soo said, “What can I do? I don’t know anymore. People say I must feel wronged… but I don’t even know if what happened to me is truly unfair. Seeing how casually and nonchalantly they cut me off without anyone feeling sorry, I wonder if what happened to me is truly unfair? Or is it just how the world works? There are many more unfair things in the world than what I experienced, so should I just endure it?” She concluded, “What I want now is to walk down the street without suddenly crying... and to not wake up even once in the early morning for a day.”
Jeong Hye-soo's classmates currently working as MBC weathercasters are Kim Ga-young, Choi Ah-ri, and Park Ha-young. In a group chat with these individuals and Lee Hyun-seung, comments were made about the deceased, such as “Completely crazy,” “Smells bad,” “Another one,” “(‘The Glory’) Yeon-jin did well on the broadcast,” and “Victim cosplay. We are the victims,” leading to them being identified as perpetrators of ‘workplace bullying.’
The family of the deceased filed a civil lawsuit against colleagues who appeared to have engaged in workplace bullying, using a suicide note left on a mobile phone and recorded files as evidence, in December of last year at the Seoul Central District Court.
MBC has formed a fact-finding committee and has begun an investigation. The Mapo Police Station in Seoul has also received a public complaint requesting an investigation into the case and has started an inquiry.
[Kim So-yeon, Star Today Reporter]
