SEOUL, Aug. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — The chief of a local humidifier disinfectant manufacturer responsible for the nation’s worst consumer chemical disaster that broke out in 2011 triggered a controversy Wednesday by arguing that the tragedy was caused by insufficient government supervision. Park Dong-suk, CEO of Oxy Reckitt Benckiser (RB Korea), a wholly owned unit [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — The prosecution said Tuesday it has indicted 34 people, including former company executives, for manufacturing and selling humidifier disinfectants containing toxic chemicals, wrapping up an eight-month reinvestigation into one of the worst scandals involving consumer products. The probe came after a 2011 scandal involving toxic humidifier disinfectants sold by [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 9 (Korea Bizwire) – The government said Wednesday it has started to run a relief fund for victims of a toxic humidifier disinfectant, as part of its compensation measure after the scandal resulted in some 70 deaths amid intense public scrutiny. The Ministry of Environment said its committee handling the management of the [...]
SEOUL, July 10 (Korea Bizwire) – The local unit of British household goods maker Reckitt Benckiser (RB) on Monday unveiled its plan to compensate a group of South Koreans who died or became seriously ill after using its toxic humidifier disinfectants. Oxy Reckitt Benckiser said 52 people who have been confirmed by the Korea Environmental [...]
SEOUL, May 19 (Korea Bizwire) – If there was one thing that South Koreans took away from the Oxy Reckitt Benckiser crisis, it was the devastating effects of chemical substances found in everyday products. The scandal dates back a decade, when polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG), a substance that was used in commercial humidifier sterilizing agents, was discovered to [...]
SEOUL, April 19 (Korea Bizwire) – An appeals court on Wednesday upheld a 16-month prison term handed down to a local professor on charges of bribery for manipulating a report in favor of Oxy Reckitt Benckiser in a high-profile toxic humidifier disinfectant case. The Seoul High Court convicted the professor at Hoseo University in Asan, [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Korea Bizwire) – A boycott is perhaps the most effective way for consumers to protest against a company’s malpractice or alleged misconduct. The practice is also common in Korea, with several big-name companies facing boycotts in recent years. Oxy Reckitt Benckiser was confronted with nationwide rage for selling deadly humidifier sterilizers that [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 5 (Korea Bizwire) – The toxic humidifier sterilizer case has left over 200 dead, with the potential number of victims believed to surpass 2.2 million. Although the controversy seems as though it’s finally coming to an end following the announcement of monetary compensation to victims of up to 350 million won ($314,000) by [...]