Toxic Humidifier Disinfectants Products Linked to Over 1,800 Deaths

Recently, 1,853 deaths were caused by humidifier disinfectants.

On April 22, environmental groups such as the Environmental Health Citizens Center, Seoul Environmental Movement Association, and Korea Federation for Environmental Movements announced, “Kim Bok Hee, a victim of the humidifier disinfectant from Cheonan, died on April 6 at Cheonan Dankook University Hospital.”

According to the groups, Kim developed asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease after using humidifier disinfectants produced by Oxy and Aekyung. These diseases were classified as ultra-high severity under the Victim Relief Act.

In 1997, Aekyung Industrial launched a humidifier disinfectant called Blue Sky Clear Humidifier. A humidifier disinfectant is a sterilizer added to the humidifier water to be dispersed into the air through the humidifier.

At that time, the company emphasized the product’s harmlessness to humans without undergoing any safety verification tests.

Around the same time, Yukong (now SK Innovation) launched Humidifier Mate, and Oxy launched Humidifier Keeper. These products saw a boom in sales as humidifiers became widely used in homes and offices after 2000.

However, in 2006 and 2011, patients with unexplained pneumonia symptoms began to appear one after another. An epidemiological investigation by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that all these patients had used humidifier disinfectants, bringing the incident to public attention.

During the more than 10 years of lengthy and fierce legal battles, Aekyung displayed an unrepentant attitude.

In April 2022, the Mediation Committee for Humidifier Disinfectant Victim Relief derived a final mediation plan requiring companies like Aekyung and Oxy to pay victims up to $7.1 billion. However, Aekyung and Oxy expressed opposition, delaying the payments for over two years.

Amid the indefinite postponement of payments, an Aekyung official was convicted.

An Yong Chan, the former CEO of Aekyung Industrial, was indicted for manufacturing and selling harmful humidifier disinfectants and was sentenced to four years in prison last January. However, he was not immediately detained.

The court ruled, “The defendants decided to commercialize the product without conducting any safety tests, recognizing all occupational negligence charges stated in the indictment.”

Currently, Aekyung Industrial is thriving in the beauty business.

Operating brands such as AGE20’s and Luna, Aekyung Industrial’s beauty business achieved sales of $1.95 billion and an operating profit of $282.7 million last year. These figures represent increases of 14.4% and 27.8%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

The business’s growth was attributed to targeting global markets such as China. Moving forward, the company plans to launch actively and market products tailored to local strategies in Japan, Vietnam, the United States, and other countries to reduce its dependence on China.

The securities industry also forecasts that Aekyung Industrial’s performance will grow centered on cosmetics this year.

Meanwhile, the number of humidifier disinfectant victims recognized by the state is currently 5,703.

However, the Special Investigation Committee for Social Disasters estimates that, including unreported cases, 20,000 people died, and 950,000 suffered from health damage, such as lung disease, between 1994 and 2011.