[Exclusive]Accused weathercaster in the case of late Oh Yo-anna faces fine... Court orders witness to appear

*This content was translated by AI.

The court has decided to impose a fine on a weathercaster identified as the perpetrator in a damages lawsuit filed by the family of the late MBC weathercaster Oh Yo-anna, who passed away suddenly, over her failure to appear.

According to StarNews, the Seoul Central District Court's Civil Consolidated Division 48 (Presiding Judge Kim Do-gyun) confirmed that on June 18, immediately after the sixth trial session regarding the workplace harassment damages lawsuit involving the late Oh Yo-anna, it decided to impose a fine on those who failed to appear for witness examination and re-served a summons. In this regard, the witness has filed an objection to the fine decision, drawing attention to what impact this may have on future trials.

Earlier, regarding the witness examination on that day, the court noted that two of the four total witnesses identified as perpetrators were absent; one submitted a statement of reasons for non-appearance, while it was confirmed that public service by publication had not been effected for the other.

The court had previously announced plans to examine witnesses during the fifth trial session. However, since all four witnesses selected did not appear in court, the court stated, "We will proceed with address correction procedures for the two absent weathercasters and will consider imposing a fine if they fail to appear again."

Those expected to appear for witness examination included the two weathercasters identified as perpetrators of the late Oh Yo-anna's harassment, her colleagues, and the meteorological team PD requested by the defendant side. At that time, the witness examination regarding the late Oh Yo-anna's colleague weathercaster was concluded in private. For the meteorological team PD, witness examination is scheduled to resume in August.

While the party did not appear, a lawyer for one of the accused weathercasters appeared in court on that day. Speaking to StarNews, this lawyer said, "We have been closely following this trial," and added, "We plan to make a direct statement after the trial results." However, the lawyer refrained from commenting on the reasons for non-appearance at the witness examination or recent developments.

The family of the late Oh Yo-anna submitted witness applications against three individuals in October 2025. The family's lawyer told StarNews, "We have filed a witness application with the court, and it is our wish that all three appear on the witness stand."

The late Oh Yo-anna passed away at the age of 28 in September 2024. Her obituary became public three months after her death, in December 2024. Subsequently, allegations emerged that she had suffered workplace harassment from colleagues during her lifetime.

As the issue gained traction, MBC formed an investigation committee four months after Oh Yo-anna's death, stating, "We have decided to establish an external Jeon Mun-ga-reul (Chairman) investigation committee." It further added, "We have conducted an internal self-investigation and plan to provide maximum support to ensure the truth is revealed quickly. We will make every effort to clarify the exact facts so that the family's pain can be healed."

The Ministry of Employment and Labor also formed a special labor inspection team in February 2025, jointly with the Seoul Local Labor Office and the Seoul Western Branch, and began special labor inspections against MBC. While concluding that "weathercasters do not qualify as employees," the ministry determined that "there were acts warranting classification as harassment." The Ministry of Employment and Labor's recognition of workplace harassment came approximately eight months after the death of the late Oh Yo-anna.

Through an official statement, MBC said, "We take the results of the special labor inspection by the Ministry of Employment and Labor very seriously," and expressed condolences to the late Oh Yo-anna and her family. It continued, "We will make our best efforts to prioritize preventing recurrence, improving organizational culture, and complying with labor relations laws as top management priorities." The statement further read, "We deeply accept the Ministry of Employment and Labor's judgment that 'there were acts of harassment against the late Oh Yo-anna' and will immediately undertake efforts to improve organizational culture. Appropriate measures will be taken regarding those involved." Additionally, MBC stated, "Based on the 'organizational culture improvement plan' previously submitted to the Ministry of Labor, we are already implementing improvement measures. We will reconfirm and address any deficiencies in light of this announcement."

MBC also said, "We will further supplement and strengthen systems to improve issues that may arise among freelancers or between regular and non-regular employees as quickly as possible. We will expand and reinforce the currently operating Clean Center so that harassment or difficulties can be reported and addressed immediately. Regardless of employment type, we will improve the system to allow colleagues to report anonymously when they become aware of such incidents." It added, "Regarding the determination of employee status for some freelancers, we will conduct a legal review and implement appropriate measures as soon as possible." The broadcaster concluded by saying, "We once again apologize to the family for the unfortunate incident involving the late Oh Yo-anna."

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*This content was translated by AI.