Over the years, the legendary newsreader has gained something of a cult following on Twitter and has several Facebook pages dedicated to her unique fashion sense.
Chin revealed the shock news on Thursday during an interview with Network 10’s Sandra Sully.
“There’s not one big reason, there’s many small to medium-sized reasons, which for the time being I wish to keep to myself but may talk about one day,” she told Ten Daily.
"It has been something I've considered for a number of years now," she continued. "I thought SBS would just fire me one day so I'd never have to make the decision, they obviously didn't and in fact offered me a two year contract extension at the start of the year. So I had to start considering it a lot more seriously."
And while the presenter didn’t reveal her reasons for quitting, in her characteristic sense of humour she joked that, “working two days a week didn’t give me enough time to devote to the pub and re-reading the complete works of Shakespeare. So now that I work zero days that issue has been addressed.”
The star also wanted to stress that she had no plans to retire.
"Retirement is death and I don't plan to die anytime soon," she said, before adding cheekily that she wouldn’t say no to a move to Ten.
"I'd like to point out that once a newsreader, always a newsreader," she told Sully. "I would be very happy to read the news on a casual basis in the future if someone were willing to have me. Let me know if you need a break, I'm sure I could give Ten a ratings boost."
In a statement, SBS Managing Director Michael Ebeid said, "SBS would like to pay tribute to Lee Lin and thank her for her significant contribution to SBS, but also to the wider Australian media industry. Lee Lin is truly one of a kind and we will miss her colourful personality gracing our screens on the weekend. Lee Lin embodies everything that SBS stands for and will always be part of the SBS family. We respect her decision to embrace new projects and wish her all the very best for the future."
The statement also revealed that Chin will be replaced by Anton Enus, who is returning to SBS World News after successfully battling bowel cancer.
“I was thrilled to receive the all-clear in March. I’ve been away from SBS for nearly two years and missed it immensely. I can’t wait to get back to into the studio alongside the best news team in the business,” Enus said.
Chin began working with SBS as a translator in 1980 after to moving to Australia from Singapore. She began hosting SBS World News in 1992 and will read her final bulletin this Sunday.
