Daijin Mattress, the manufacturer, filed a constitutional complaint claiming that the relevant legal provisions were unconstitutional to avoid responsibility for compensating consumers harmed by the "radon mattress scandal" that occurred in 2018, but the Constitutional Court found they did not violate the Constitution.
According to legal sources on the 21st, the Constitutional Court on July 23 ruled unanimously by all justices to uphold the constitutionality in a case where Daijin Mattress claimed that Article 15, subparagraph 3 of the Living Radiation Act violates the Constitution.
The radon mattress scandal erupted in June 2018 when large amounts of radon, a radioactive substance, were detected in mattresses made by Daijin Mattress. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies radon as a Group 1 carcinogen and considers it one of the suspected causes of lung cancer. Radon was released from monazite powder applied by Daijin Mattress to generate negative ions from the mattresses.
The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission ordered the recall of seven types of mattresses, saying the radiation exposure dose from Daijin Mattress products exceeded the standard by up to 9.3 times. Consumers who used mattresses manufactured by Daijin Mattress filed damages suits, saying they suffered physical and psychological harm. About 10 class damages lawsuits were filed.
A total of 1,717 people, including a person identified as A who purchased Daijin Mattress mattresses between 2009 and 2017, lost in the first trial in Dec. 2023. The first-instance court said, "It is difficult to recognize that damage occurred, such as the occurrence of danger to the plaintiffs' bodies due to the mattresses or abnormalities in health."
In Dec. 2024, the appellate court recognized Daijin Mattress's liability for damages. The appellate panel said, "Daijin Mattress manufactured mattresses using monazite without any review of risks and sold them while emphasizing the vague efficacy of negative ions," and "countless consumers suffered harm by being exposed to radiation against their will for years."
In July last year, the Supreme Court dismissed Daijin Mattress's appeal and finalized the lower court's ruling. The Supreme Court said, "The plaintiffs were exposed over a long period to radiation exceeding the safety standards for processed products set by the Living Radiation Act and the Living Radiation Safety Management Regulations against their will," and "Daijin Mattress is liable to compensate the plaintiffs for the amount equivalent to the mattress price plus consolation money for mental distress." The plaintiffs received about 1 million to 2 million won, combining the mattress price and consolation money.
During the first trial, Daijin Mattress applied for a request for a constitutional review regarding Article 15, subparagraph 3 of the Living Radiation Act, but after the court rejected it, the company filed a constitutional complaint in Jan. 2024. If the court accepts the application, the trial is suspended until the Constitutional Court reaches a conclusion. Even if liability for damages is later recognized when the trial resumes, the timing of payment could be delayed.
Article 15, subparagraph 3 of the Living Radiation Act provides that "the amount of radiation exposure to a person emitted from a processed product shall not exceed the standards set and announced by the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission." Daijin Mattress argued that this violates the principle of prohibition of comprehensive delegation.
In response, the Constitutional Court said, "(The safety standard for radiation exposure) falls under professional and technical matters requiring knowledge in medicine and nuclear engineering, and because scientific knowledge continues to change depending on the purpose of radiation protection, flexible judgment and regulation are necessary," adding, "It is inevitable to delegate setting safety standards to notices by the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission." It then found that the principle of prohibition of comprehensive delegation was not violated.