Emergency Forum Held to Demand MBC Hearing
Calls to Recognize Oh's Worker Status
Seniority Culture Creates Hierarchy and Unofficial Control
On the 14th, the People Power Party urged the National Assembly to hold a hearing regarding the death of late MBC weathercaster Oh Yoanna, accusing the Democratic Party of having a malicious comrade mentality that blindly protects MBC by siding with the broadcaster.
Kim Sohee, a member of the People Power Party from the Policy Committee and the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee, held an urgent forum titled 'Urgent Discussion to Demand an MBC Hearing on Workplace Harassment' at the National Assembly Members' Office Building. She called for a hearing by the Environment and Labor Committee to investigate the truth behind the workplace harassment Oh experienced during her lifetime.
Floor leader Kwon Seong-dong began by saying, "MBC claims to have conducted an internal investigation, but no results seem to have come out, and the Ministry of Employment and Labor has launched a special labor inspection. To resolve this issue, active cooperation from the Democratic Party is necessary."
He continued, "The Democratic Party holds countless hearings whenever an incident occurs if it benefits their party. MBC is on the Democratic Party’s side. The mentality of 'we must protect our side no matter what' is a malicious comrade spirit that leads to rejecting hearings on this case," criticizing, "They have no concern for workers' safety and are abusing legislative power solely by dividing sides, which will ultimately face the judgment of the people."
Kwon Young-se, chairman of the Emergency Response Committee, also said, "The Democratic Party has consistently shown a lukewarm attitude and blocked the holding of hearings. This is completely different from their usual behavior," adding, "The Democratic Party, which even enacted the Serious Accidents Punishment Act to hold business owners accountable for workplace harassment, remains silent specifically regarding MBC."
Kim Sang-hoon, chairman of the Policy Committee, referred to statistics on workplace harassment reports, stating, "According to last year's announcement by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, there were 12,253 reports of workplace harassment," and pointed out, "This is six times higher than in 2019 when the workplace harassment prevention system was introduced. Considering there are 246 working days in a year, this means over 50 cases occur daily." He emphasized, "While social awareness has increased, unfortunate incidents continue due to unreasonable working environments, so fundamental measures are necessary."
Kim Hyung-dong, the ruling party's secretary of the Environment and Labor Committee, said, "I hope the MBC Media Labor Union reflects on what it did until Oh, who was in the same space, reached death and shows self-reflection," and urged, "I also demand the Democratic Party respond. They have claimed to lead in protecting workers more than our party, but they remain silent only regarding the late Oh Yoanna case and have not responded at all to the ruling party’s request for a hearing in the Environment and Labor Committee." He called for a response to the hearing request.
During the forum, arguments were raised that Oh’s status as a worker should be recognized considering the internal seniority culture among MBC weathercasters. Freelancers are not classified as workers under the Labor Standards Act and thus are not subject to Article 76-2 of the Labor Standards Act, which prohibits workplace harassment, because they have relatively more autonomy and can decide their work content independently.
However, lawyer Hong Se-wook from the Batang Law Office said, "MBC assigns 'open recruitment seniority' to freelance broadcasters, creating a hierarchy and controlling them through non-institutional and unofficial methods," adding, "In Oh Yoanna’s case, a fellow freelance weathercaster called her back to the company after working hours under the pretext of 'needing to teach her.'"
He continued, "If they hired her as a weathercaster, they should operate in a way that fits the nature of freelancers," emphasizing, "If Oh Yoanna is recognized as a worker, MBC should face disadvantages."
The need for laws protecting all those who provide labor, regardless of whether Oh was a freelancer, was reiterated. Earlier, on the 11th, the People Power Party and the government held a party-government meeting on livelihood inspection in non-economic sectors and decided to promote a special law to prevent workplace harassment against freelancers, platform workers, and others in light of this incident.
Park Jung-yeon, vice president of the Certified Labor and Social Security Attorney Association, said, "Since Oh Yoanna’s social status was a freelancer, the issue of determining worker status to decide the applicability of the Labor Standards Act must precede," and urged, "There is a need for separate legislation to protect all people who provide labor under subordination."
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