Lawyer Lee Seung-ik (R) shows a complaint against Daehyun Chemistry Industry Co. and its distributor over its baby bathtubs found to contain a harmful material outside Dongjak Police Station in southeastern Seoul on Feb. 9, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — About 3,000 consumers on Tuesday filed a complaint against two companies that produced and distributed baby bathtubs found to have an excessive level of a harmful chemical substance.
A lawyer representing about 1,000 infants and their parents reported Daehyun Chemistry Industry Co. and its distributor to Dongjak Police Station in southeastern Seoul on charges of violating the Special Act on the Safety of Children’s Products.
In December, the state-run Korean Agency for Technology and Standards announced that the company’s baby bathtub contains 612.5 times the amount of phthalate plasticizer allowed under safety standards.
The substance is used to make plastics soft and flexible. It is an endocrine-disrupting chemical, and experts said high exposure to it could lead to liver damage and reproductive dysfunction.
The bathtub was highly popular, selling for a mere 5,000 won (US$4.48) at Daiso, a leading flat-priced daily supplies store chain that runs more than 1,000 branches nationwide.
Asung Daiso Corp., the operator of the stores, has said that it confirmed official safety documents for the product, including a certificate of non-detection of phthalate plasticizer, before the first shipment, but that Daehyun did not comply with safety guidelines in making bathtubs that were supplied afterward.
“This case reveals a loophole in the state safety certification system that it cannot verify the change of materials of products in the course of (manufacturing),” Lee Seung-ik, the attorney representing the parents, said.
Investigation into the case has already been launched as Lee filed a complaint in December shortly after the announcement. The police station raided the two companies Friday and seized related materials, police officials said.
The complainants also reported the two companies to the Fair Trade Commission and applied for collective dispute mediation with the Korea Consumer Agency.
(Yonhap)
