[SC Issue] Despite the allegations of bullying regarding the late Anna Oh, Kim Ga-young wears a bright dress for weather forecast and appears on live radio
As allegations have surfaced that workplace bullying was the cause of the death of the late MBC weathercaster Oh Yoanna, Kim Ga-young, another MBC weathercaster who was identified as a perpetrator in these allegations, is facing ongoing criticism.
On February 1st and 2nd, Kim was seen delivering weather forecasts during MBC’s ‘News Desk.’ She wore a yellow dress on the 1st and an apricot-colored dress on the 2nd. These segments were also uploaded to the ‘MBC News’ YouTube channel; however, unlike other news videos, comments were disabled for the weather forecast videos.
Similarly, comments were disabled on weather forecast videos from other MBC weathercasters, including Chae-rim Geum on the February 2nd ’12 MBC News’ and Ha-myung Park on the February 3rd ‘News Today.’
This follows the belated news of Oh Yoanna’s will being released on January 27th, which pointed to workplace harassment as the cause of her death. Ever since, comments have been consistently disabled on weather forecast videos on MBC News’ YouTube channel, likely as a conscious measure by MBC’s newsroom or weather team.
On February 3rd, Kim Ga-young also appeared on MBC FM4U’s live show ‘Good Morning FM, hosted by Tei,’ during the ‘Inconspicuous News’ segment. This was her first live broadcast after the allegation of Oh Yoanna’s death being caused by workplace bullying. However, listeners noted a shift in atmosphere; DJ Tei did not mention Kim by name, and Kim delivered the news in a subdued tone without her usual greetings.
Furthermore, Kim has been receiving backlash from netizens after a video clip surfaced showing her participating in a ‘Workplace Bullying Prevention’ campaign, despite being accused of being a bully herself.
The situation intensified with the involvement of YouTuber Iljuiter (Kim Joo-yeon), who is known to be an acquaintance of Kim Ga-young from the show ‘Kick A Goal.’ The YouTuber stepped in to defend Kim but ended up facing backlash as well.
Following Oh Yoanna’s tragic suicide last year, a will found recently on her cellphone suggested workplace bullying as a key factor in her death. Her family has since filed a lawsuit for damages against her colleagues at MBC.
Meanwhile, MBC stated on January 28th that Oh had not reported any workplace issues to any responsible department or supervisor, but they are ready to conduct an investigation if requested by the bereaved family.
Despite the calls from other media to continue the coverage of Oh’s death, MBC has not addressed it in their news segments, further sparking the ire of netizens by continuing to air weather forecasts by those implicated in the bullying allegations.
Furthermore, Myung-il Kang, the emergency planning chairman of MBC’s third labor union, alleged the existence of a group chat involving all MBC weathercasters except Oh and one other. On January 31st, the National Union of Media Workers at MBC stated there needs to be an objective and accurate investigation and advised against premature conclusions, which could hinder the fact-finding process.
Journalist Jeong Bit
rightlight@sportschosun.com