It has been reported that late weathercaster Oh Yoanna signed a punitive work contract with MBC for a 6-month extension due to attendance issues in 2023.
On the 18th, Dailyan reported on a 13-minute recording of a conversation between Oh Yoanna and Mr. A, the head of the weather disaster department, on January 31, 2023. This conversation took place the day after a senior weathercaster reported Oh Yoanna's attendance issues to the higher-ups.
In the recording, Mr. A asked Oh Yoanna why she could not conduct the radio broadcast, to which Oh Yoanna replied, “I took an ambulance due to (gastroenteritis). It happened on the road, but I regained consciousness halfway and returned, but the seniors said, ‘You can’t do the news,’ so I couldn’t do it.”
She continued, “I was under a lot of stress at the time, and even on the day when (the senior) told me not to say my voice was bad, I kept vomiting after the broadcast. I was pressing the pain with medication at the hospital, and it felt strange. So, I think it would have been okay if I had mentioned it back then,” explaining her health condition.
In response, Mr. A expressed that trust had been broken between him and Oh Yoanna, making it difficult to work together anymore, saying, “The contract period is usually done on a yearly basis, but in Oh Yoanna’s case, we decided to split it into 6 months, 6 months. You can understand it as a slight warning.”
It is reported that Oh Yoanna's freelance work contract was confirmed as a 6-month contract followed by a conditional 6-month extension contract.
Additionally, the recording includes indications that Oh Yoanna was experiencing difficulties in her senior-junior relationships, which has drawn attention.
Oh Yoanna stated, “I couldn’t maintain the organizational relationships and senior-junior relationships well,” and added, “I think I often get misunderstood because I’m not very good at expressing myself and I’m not the type to contact quickly or be friendly.”
Meanwhile, late Oh Yoanna joined MBC as a public recruitment weathercaster in 2021 and suddenly passed away last September. The news of her death was belatedly reported three months later in December.
Subsequently, a 17-page letter was found on the deceased's mobile phone, raising suspicions of workplace bullying, and the family filed a civil lawsuit against colleagues suspected of workplace bullying at the Seoul Central District Court in December last year.
MBC organized a fact-finding committee and began an investigation, while the Mapo Police Station in Seoul also received related complaints and started verifying the facts. The Ministry of Employment and Labor initiated a preliminary investigation to determine whether the deceased, who was a freelancer, qualifies as a worker under the Labor Standards Act.
[Lee Da-kyum, Star Today Reporter]
