This file photo taken Aug. 28, 2025, shows victims of a humidifier disinfectant scandal holding a press conference in central Seoul, marking the 14th anniversary of the case. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — The government said Thursday that it has formally ended mediation between Oxy Reckitt Benckiser and victims of South Korea’s long-running toxic humidifier disinfectant scandal, after the two sides failed to reach a settlement in an appeal case.
The decision was announced at a meeting of the National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct, a body under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources that carries out the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s guidelines for multinational companies.
The National Contact Point had made three attempts to broker an agreement after two Oxy customers last October urged the company to devise additional relief measures for victims whose injuries were not recognized under the government’s official grading system. Their appeal revived public scrutiny of one of the country’s worst consumer-product disasters.
Oxy, the Korean unit of the Britain-based Reckitt Benckiser, was among several companies found to have sold toxic humidifier disinfectants that caused a wave of deaths and severe illnesses beginning in 2011.
A government investigation later confirmed the link between the chemicals and the respiratory damage suffered by consumers, many of whom had used the products during dry winter months.
As of last year, 5,691 people were deemed eligible for state-backed compensation, including 1,262 who had died.
Oxy told the government it could not offer further compensation, arguing that it had already completed settlements with officially recognized victims and contributed to a government-managed relief fund.
Seo Young-cheol, a victim of toxic humidifier disinfectants, speaks during a press conference on the death of the 1853rd victim of the humidifier disinfectant disaster in front of the Oxy headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, April 22, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
But the Contact Point, in a formal statement, urged Oxy to strengthen internal oversight to meet consumer health and safety standards under OECD guidelines and to participate constructively in the Environment Ministry’s broader efforts to resolve outstanding issues for victims.
It also recommended that the company improve communication with those whose injuries fell outside the grading system and pursue “substantive remedies,” while asking Oxy to coordinate with its U.K. headquarters and report back within a year.
The findings also faulted Oxy for inadequate efforts to verify product safety and for marketing the disinfectant with false claims.
The National Contact Point system operates in 52 countries; South Korea established its office in 2001 under the industry ministry.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
