In a damages lawsuit filed by victims of the "humidifier disinfectant disaster" against the government of Korea and manufacturers, the state's responsibility was recognized.
According to legal sources on the 21st, the Civil Division 46 (Presiding Judge Kim Hyeong-cheol) ruled that day in favor of some of the plaintiffs in a damages suit filed in Aug. 2012 by seven victims against the state and others. Initially, more than 80 people filed suit, but except for the seven, the remaining victims received recommendations for mediation or settlement.
That day, the court accepted only the claims against the government of Korea and the manufacturer Cefu. It dismissed the claims against others, including Hanvit Chemical and Oxy Reckitt Benckiser (Oxy).
However, regarding state compensation, it said, "Responsibility against Korea was recognized, but after offsetting gains and losses, there is no remaining portion to be held liable." Accordingly, it ordered only Cefu to pay three victims 8 million won, 990,000 won, and 10 million won, respectively. For delayed interest, it applied 20% from Oct. 2012 to Sep. 2015, 15% from then to May 2019, and 12% from then until the date of repayment.
The humidifier disinfectant disaster is a case in which a humidifier disinfectant product first released in 1994 caused users' lung damage and other injuries. Victims, centered on children and pregnant women, began to appear in the early 2000s, but the cases remained as "lung disease of unknown cause" until 2011, when an epidemiological investigation by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed a causal link between the disinfectant and lung damage.
In Jan. 2018, a former head of Oxy received a finalized sentence of six years in prison at the Supreme Court on charges including occupational negligence causing death. The government said on Dec. 24 last year that it would designate the humidifier disinfectant incident as a "social disaster."