Korean Union Exposes Lawless Variety Production: Staff Choke Writers, Wages Unpaid

“The production site of variety shows has become a lawless zone. The reality is that we can’t receive proper legal protection.”

On September 11, the Korea Media Workers’ Rights Center (hereinafter referred to as the Human Rights Center) and the Broadcasting Writers Union held a press conference at the Seoul Regional Employment Labor Office to voice these concerns. According to their allegations, the production environment for variety shows in South Korea is chaotic, with power harassment and unpaid wages rampant.

“What the Human Rights Center has pointed out is an incident that occurred on June 30 in Busan, in the southern region. On that day, a shoot for a visual arts variety show was taking place. The incident was triggered by the actions of executive staff member A, who oversees the program.

It appears that he was displeased with a broadcast writer’s composition, shouting, ‘Get it together!’ and severely reprimanding him. When another writer tried to calm him down, A reportedly became furious and physically assaulted him, even choking him. Many extras and other staff members witnessed the incident.”

 

Approximately 80 people across nine shows.

 

The troubles didn’t end on set. Six broadcast writers protested against this power harassment and demanded strict measures from the production company to which the staff member A belonged. However…

“On July 9, all the protesting writers were fired without being given any satisfactory reasons. The writers consulted with the Human Rights Center, which led to this current accusation,” said the previous source.

According to the Human Rights Center, such troubles frequently occur in many variety production environments in South Korea.

“During the press conference on September 11, shocking realities were revealed. Not only was there power harassment, but wage non-payment was also rampant. According to the Human Rights Center, this year alone, unpaid wages affected approximately 80 staff members across nine shows, amounting to a total of 600 million won (about 63 million yen).

The working conditions are quite poor. Staff from subcontracting companies reportedly work irregularly and for long hours, day and night, at the whims of the show’s producers. It’s said that expressing dissatisfaction or protesting can lead to sudden dismissal, as seen with the aforementioned writers,” stated another journalist.

The South Korean television industry is in chaos. The Human Rights Center plans to submit a petition for environmental improvement to the labor office.