MBC’s under fire again, even after finally apologizing to the family of the late weather caster Oh Yo-anna—eight months after her death. Though the company’s admitted to workplace bullying, some of the people named as perpetrators are still showing up on air, which is only making things worse.
The apology aired on the 19th during ‘Newsdesk,’ with anchor Jo Hyun-yong bowing his head and saying sorry to the bereaved family. MBC also said, “We gravely accept the judgment that there was harassment towards Ms. Oh Yo-anna,” and laid out plans for follow-up, like setting up a win-win cooperation officer, bringing in a third-party reporting system, and reviewing the legal status of freelancers.
But just a day later, controversy exploded again. On the 20th’s morning weather segment, Kim Ga-young—named as one of the perpetrators—was back on air. That didn’t sit well with viewers, who slammed MBC with comments like, “MBC’s apology is just words,” and “The perpetrator’s appearance on broadcast is secondary victimization.” The night before, Geum Chae-rim, a colleague of Oh Yo-anna, had taken over the forecast segment.
MBC’s still figuring out how to move forward. A company rep told Sports Today, “While we fully empathize with the bereaved family, we cannot forcibly tell a specific weather caster, ‘You are a perpetrator, so step down.’” They added, “Even encouraging voluntary resignation is a very delicate matter for the company. We need to discuss how to proceed further.”
The official also mentioned, “We have not yet received an official document regarding the results of the special labor inspection from the Ministry of Employment and Labor.” Since the article broke first, “The press release was prepared in a hurry… Once the official document arrives, we will thoroughly review its contents and consider appropriate follow-up measures.”
Oh Yo-anna sadly died by suicide back in September 2023. Her family’s been pushing ever since for a full investigation and for those responsible to be held accountable. “Oh Yo-anna was in a blind spot of the internal personnel protection system because she was an external contract employee,” the family said.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor had carried out a three-month inspection into MBC and ended up confirming workplace harassment. They spotted six labor law violations and slapped the company with a fine of 15 million won. But they said criminal prosecution wasn’t possible, since she technically didn’t count as a “worker” under the law. Her family called that out, saying, “It makes no sense to say she’s not a worker when she was hired through public recruitment.”
Now that the ministry’s confirmed the harassment, everyone’s watching to see how MBC plans to show it really means what it says about changing its toxic culture—for real this time.
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