MBC weathercaster's 2024 death was suicide, reports say

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MBC weathercaster's 2024 death was suicide, reports say

Former MBC weathercaster Oh Yoanna [SCREEN CATPURE]

Former MBC weathercaster Oh Yoanna [SCREEN CATPURE]

 
It was revealed on Monday that MBC weathercaster Oh Yoanna, who passed away at the age of 28 last year, had died by suicide. A suicide note detailing workplace bullying was found on Oh’s cellphone, according to local reports on Monday.
 
Oh, born in 1996, wrote a 17-page suicide note on her cellphone's notepad app at around 1:05 a.m. on Sept. 15 of last year before taking her own life, according to local reports. In the note, Oh recounted her experience being bullied by two fellow weathercasters at the broadcaster MBC.
 
Oh, who was hired as a weathercaster at MBC in May 2021, is said to have been subject to bullying since March of the following year. Colleagues blamed Oh for making false reports and called her back to the company after work or prevented her from leaving the office altogether.
 
In addition, local media reported that a large number of KakaoTalk messages and audio files from colleagues pinpointing Oh’s lack of “skills” had been discovered. When Oh was recruited for an episode of the tvN talk show “You Quiz on the Block” in 2022, another weathercaster criticized her for it.
 
Oh reportedly informed several MBC officials of the fact that she had been victimized before her death, but MBC reportedly did not conduct a separate investigation.
 
“I'm so tired of living — I hate that I can't do what I love to the fullest," Oh wrote in her suicide note. "Please hold my funeral like a party outdoors. Wear a dress or something pretty and come while eating finger food and smiling. Don't bury me anywhere, just scatter my ashes in the ocean.”


If you or someone you know is feeling emotionally distressed or struggling with thoughts of suicide, LifeLine Korea can be contacted at 1588-9191. The Seoul Foreign Resident Center offers English-language counseling. Contact 02-2229-4900 to arrange a session. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org. 
 
 

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]
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