"The First Responders" Production Apologizes to the Late Lee Him-chan

Studio S, the production company of the SBS drama "The First Responders" apologized for the death of producer Lee Him-chan, a former drama producer.

Advertisement

The Studio S late producer Lee Him-chan's death task force, which consists of five organizations, including the National Media Workers' Union, held a press conference at the Press Center in Joong-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 8th.

After joining SBS, the deceased moved to Studio S according to the division of the drama headquarters in 2020, and worked as the production manager of the drama "The First Responders" before his death. He appealed about the heavy workload then on January 30th, he decided to end his own life. The bereaved families, the Korean Press Workers' Union, and the Hanbit Media Labor Human Rights Center set up a task force to find out the truth and prevent a recurrence.

According to a joint fact-finding report released by labor and management on the same day, the deceased was forced to an extreme situations due to extreme stress from work, such as insufficient budget, tight organization, and unexpected variables.

Han Jung-hwan, CEO of Studio S, said, "Through a joint investigation, we reflected on the company's production system and took the pain that the late producer Lee Him-chan would have suffered severely and seriously", adding, "We deeply apologize to the bereaved families. We will faithfully implement the improvement measures we promised to prevent this from happening again and do our best to restore the honor of the deceased", he apologized.

In the first episode of "The First Responders" which will be broadcast on the 12th, a message of condolence will be posted, and a memorial ceremony will be held along with a photo of the deceased in the last scene of the final episode. A memorial service for the deceased is also held every year at the company level, and the SBS headquarters of the media union plans to designate the date of the deceased as 'union members safety day'.