The fallout from the death of Oh Yoanna, who had spoken up about workplace bullying, has led MBC to retire its weathercaster system. As a result, all of MBC’s freelance weathercasters ― including her peer Geum Chaerim ― have exited after their contracts ended.
On February. 8, Geum posted on her social media, “Last Friday (the 6th) was my final day delivering the weather as a weathercaster.” She added, “I have no regrets because I did my best every broadcast during nearly five years at MBC, but I’m left with sadness and a heavy heart as the job I loved disappears.”
In September last year, MBC officially abolished its freelance weathercaster system. The program, which had been in place for 31 years, came to an end and shifted to hiring experienced “weather and climate experts” as staff. On the newly launched “MBC News 25,” anchors now deliver brief weather updates without a separate weathercaster.
Oh Yoanna passed away on Sept. 15, 2024, at age 28. A note roughly 17 pages long was found on her phone, reportedly describing severe distress caused by workplace bullying.
The bereaved family named a senior colleague, identified as A, along with several weathercasters, as perpetrators. However, following a special audit in May last year, MBC determined that only A among the four named individuals was at fault and terminated A’s contract. The family is currently pursuing a civil damages suit of 510 million won against A.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)
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