Prosecutors indicted a former chief of the South Korean unit of Oxy Reckitt Benckiser on Tuesday over the British firm‘s toxic humidifier sterilizers which resulted in numerous deaths and illnesses here.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said it indicted Shin Hyun-woo over the snowballing case that has fueled public concerns over the safety of household chemicals.
Third from left, former CEO of Oxy Korea Shin Hyun-woo (Yonhap)
The 68-year-old, who headed the company between 1991 and 2005, has been charged with homicide by negligence, according to prosecutors. Oxy started selling its products here in 2001.
Two other former and current company officials, as well as the chief of another humidifier sterilizer maker, Cefu, identified only by his surname Oh were indicted at the same time. Prosecutors said they also summarily indicted Oxy Korea and Cefu to pay 150 million won (US$126,000) in fines each.
The humidifier disinfectant case, one of the worst scandals involving a consumer product using chemicals, came to light after four pregnant women died of lung problems from unknown causes in 2011. A government-led investigation confirmed a connection between people who died of lung problems and the chemicals used to clean household humidifiers.
South Korea confirmed 221 people as victims. Among them, 177 had used Oxy products. Out of 90 deaths, 70 are believed to have been caused by products made by Oxy.
In early May, Oxy Korea CEO Ata Safdar made an official apology and vowed to fully cooperate with the Korean government in the ongoing investigation. Now the focus is on whether the company‘s British headquarters was aware of the health risks of its disinfectants. (Yonhap)
