Bereaved Family of Late Oh Yoanna Gives Up Witness Examination of Weathercaster Identified as Alleged Perpetrator: "Even the Administrative Fine Was Useless"

[Financial News] The bereaved family of the late Oh Yoanna has given up examining as a witness the weathercaster identified as an alleged perpetrator in a damages lawsuit over workplace bullying.
According to Star News on the 19th, the family decided to withdraw its request to examine two weathercasters identified as alleged perpetrators in the ongoing damages lawsuit. The decision came after the witnesses repeatedly failed to appear in court despite being ordered to attend.
The deceased's older brother told the outlet, "We ultimately decided to give up because it seemed they would not come even if we kept asking them to."
The bereaved family initially requested that the two weathercasters identified as alleged perpetrators, along with a colleague of the deceased, testify as witnesses. The defense requested that the weather team's producer appear as a witness.
However, the two weathercasters identified as alleged perpetrators did not attend their scheduled examinations. One submitted a written explanation for the absence, while service by public notice had reportedly not been completed for the other.
In June, the court imposed an administrative fine on the absent witness and sent another order to appear. The witness was reportedly said to have filed an objection to the decision imposing the fine.
The examination of the colleague weathercaster was held behind closed doors, and the examination of the weather team's producer requested by the defense was also completed.
A legal representative for one of the weathercasters who did not appear for the examination said that the individual had continued to follow the trial and would personally state their position after the verdict. However, the representative reportedly declined to comment on the reason for the absence or the individual's current circumstances.
News of Oh's death was belatedly reported in December 2024, about three months after she died. After allegations emerged that she had suffered workplace bullying during her lifetime, MBC and the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) launched separate investigations.
In May last year, MOEL determined that it was difficult to regard Oh as an employee of MBC under the Labor Standards Act and therefore did not apply the provisions prohibiting workplace bullying. However, it said that acts that could be considered bullying had been identified during the investigation.
The bereaved family and MBC reached an agreement last October. After formally apologizing to the family, MBC abolished its freelance weathercaster system and introduced a weather and climate expert system.
The trial, which had been scheduled for October, was postponed to November at the defense's request. The bereaved family expects closing arguments to conclude and a verdict to be handed down at the next hearing or the one after that.


[email protected] Seong Min-seo Reporter