Members of a civic group stage a rally in Seoul in this Aug. 28, 2023, file photo on the 12th anniversary of the 2011 toxic humidifier sterilizer case, which the group claims resulted in 1,821 deaths and cases of illnesses in South Korea, calling for compensation of victims and urging disinfectant makers to take responsibility for it. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a retrial for two former heads of humidifier disinfectant makers who had been sentenced to prison terms for producing and selling toxic products that resulted in illness and death among customers.
The top court overturned the four-year prison sentences for Hong Ji-ho, former CEO of SK Chemical, and Ahn Yong-chan, former CEO of Aekyung Industrial, and sent the case back to the Seoul High Court, ruling it was unclear whether the victims were affected solely by their products or in combination with other disinfectants.
Hong and Ahn were indicted in 2019 on charges of producing and selling toxic humidifier disinfectants that led to respiratory illnesses in 98 people, including 12 who died.
They were acquitted in their first trial in 2021 after a district court ruled the causality between the lung illnesses and chemicals in their products, such as methylisothiazolinone, had not been proven.
The Seoul High Court overturned the ruling in an appellate trial in January this year, recognizing the responsibility of the firms’ humidifier disinfectant products for lung illnesses among consumers.
The case is one of a series related to a long-running toxic humidifier disinfectant scandal, one of South Korea’s worst consumer goods disasters.
In 2011, consumers started to report deaths and illnesses allegedly tied to humidifier disinfectants, widely used in households in the dry winters. A government-led investigation later confirmed the link between the two.
As of 2023, 5,691 individuals were eligible for state-backed compensation related to toxic humidifier disinfectant, including 1,262 dead victims.
(Yonhap)
