Workplace Harassment Confirmed in Oh Yoanna Case... Ministry Says "No Law Applied as Not an Employee"

45.6 Percent of Employees Report Experiencing
or Witnessing Workplace Harassment

The labor authorities have concluded that there was workplace harassment in the case of the late Oh Yoanna, a former MBC weathercaster, following their investigation. However, they did not apply the workplace harassment regulations because, given the nature of weathercaster duties, it is difficult to recognize them as "employees" under the Labor Standards Act. The authorities also uncovered violations of labor-related laws by MBC, including 184 million won in unpaid wages, and imposed a fine of 15.4 million won.

On May 19, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced the results of a special labor inspection conducted by the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office and the Seoul Western District Office regarding Oh's workplace harassment case. This special inspection was carried out from February 11 to 16. The purpose was not only to determine whether harassment against the deceased had occurred, but also to examine the overall organizational culture and personnel management at MBC.

The Ministry determined that harassment against Oh had indeed taken place. After joining the company in 2021, Oh received frequent guidance and advice from a senior colleague, but these actions went beyond simple guidance or advice and, in light of social norms, could not be justified as necessary for work. The authorities also noted that these actions were repeated.

The Ministry stated, "Although MBC weathercasters are freelancers with individual independence and autonomy, there exists a clear hierarchy and order within the organizational culture, expressed through senior-junior relationships. This culture has significantly contributed to conflicts between seniors and juniors escalating into acts of harassment."

However, after interviewing witnesses and conducting forensic analysis of the deceased's social media accounts and laptop to investigate the actual working conditions of weathercasters, the Ministry concluded that it was difficult to recognize them as employees under the Labor Standards Act. Therefore, the workplace harassment regulations under Article 76-2 of the Act were not applied.

During the inspection period, the Ministry also conducted a three-week survey on the overall organizational culture of all MBC employees. Of the 252 respondents, 115 (45.6%) answered that they had either experienced workplace harassment or sexual harassment themselves or knew of colleagues who had been victims. Some respondents also reported experiencing unfair treatment and disregard, such as discrimination based on their employment entry route.

The Ministry stated, "Although the workplace harassment regulations were not applied in the case of the deceased, we believe that improvements are needed to address the overall unreasonable organizational culture described above." The Ministry added, "We plan to actively guide improvements by requiring the submission of an organizational culture improvement plan and monitoring its implementation."

Upon further investigation into the employment status of 35 freelancers in the news and current affairs division, which includes weathercasters, the Ministry found that 25 of them qualified as employees under the Labor Standards Act. Although these freelancers?including FDs, ADs, field PDs, and editing PDs?had signed service contracts with MBC, in practice, they received specific and continuous work instructions and supervision from main PDs and worked regularly and continuously alongside regular employees and other workers.

The Ministry stated, "We have issued corrective instructions to ensure that employment contracts are concluded in line with their actual working conditions, without lowering their current working conditions, and we will monitor the implementation of these instructions."

In addition, the Ministry uncovered a total of six violations of labor-related laws, including 184 million won in unpaid wages for 691 employees, such as underpayment of overtime allowances for broadcast support and contract workers. Of these, four cases were immediately reported as crimes, and two fines totaling 15.4 million won were imposed.

Kim Minseok, acting head of the Ministry, stated, "Despite ongoing guidance and supervision of broadcasters, violations of labor-related laws continue to be detected and issues in personnel management are still being pointed out." He added, "We will continue to actively provide guidance to major broadcasters in the future."