It has been reported that the family of the late MBC weather caster Oh Yoanna, who passed away last year, has filed a lawsuit against the alleged perpetrators.
According to KBS on the 29th, Oh Yoanna's family submitted a complaint to the court last month, claiming that Oh Yoanna had endured workplace harassment for the past two years. The family presented text messages and phone call records between the late Oh Yoanna and her co-workers as evidence. Some of the text messages reportedly contained statements like, "I wonder if I'm really that bad to deserve hearing such things?" and "Am I doing so poorly that it causes the weather team to be discontinued?"
Her suicide note also reportedly mentioned the names of colleagues with whom she had conflicts, along with statements like, "I was treated as if I was an irresponsible person."
The family stated that despite suffering public verbal abuse and humiliation for two years, the late Oh Yoanna never received any apologies from the perpetrators. "We wish we could go back in time and stop that pain. This lawsuit is filed to prevent such violence and misfortune caused by the abuse of power in the workplace from happening again in the future."
The family also criticized MBC for condoning workplace harassment and demanded the company do a thorough investigation.
In response, MBC claimed that the late Oh Yoanna had never reported the situation to the relevant department or management. However, they stated they would launch an investigation if requested by the family.
MBC explained, "The company takes workplace harassment very seriously. We immediately investigate any reports or complaints filed by any freelancers or on-air talents." Furthermore, MBC requested, "We ask that you refrain from spreading unconfirmed rumors or making baseless accusations. This does not only affect the late (Oh Yoanna)'s reputation but can also create additional victims."
Currently, MBC's Youtube Channel is flooded with hateful comments directed at the watercasters accused of being the perpetrators. Comments on the weather news videos have been filled with thousands of comments such as, "This is the real-life Park Yeonjin situation. So scary," "Why did you bully Oh Yoanna?", "Did you enjoy bullying her?", "You must've felt safe thinking the victim stayed silent. How shameless," "I'm too scared to watch the weather forecast now," and "How can you go on-air with a smile on your face even after killing someone?"
Despite the backlash, the accused individuals have not issued any statements and continue to present the weather news.
Oh Yoanna passed away in September last year. She was a former idol trainee who won the title of 'Suk' in the 2019 Chunhyang Beauty Pageant. In 2021, she became an MBC weathercaster, presenting the weather on weekdays and weekends.
