Boycott of Reckitt Benckiser expands
Civic groups, including the Asian Citizen’s Center for Environment and Health, hold a rally to call for a thorough investigation into Oxy Reckitt Benckiser at Gwanghwamun Square, central Seoul, April 25. The boycott of the U.K. firm is gaining momentum as an increasing number of pharmacists take part in it. / Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho
More pharmacists and Seoul’s mayor have joined the boycott of Oxy Reckitt Benckiser, which makes humidifier disinfectants and sterilizers blamed for the deaths of more than 100 people in Korea.
Although the Korean Pharmaceutical Association decided not to boycott products of the U.K. firm, citing legal issues, many pharmacists here have joined.
Neulpeum Pharmacy at Gwanak-gu, southwestern Seoul, recently posted in its window a notice, saying it no longer sold Strepsils and Gaviscon from Oxy Reckitt Benckiser.
“The company sold its products, knowing its products’ health posed health risks. As a result, people were victimized. The company should admit its fault, take responsibility for its action and compensate those harmed,”
it said.
Speaking to a local media outlet, Choi Chang-wook, head of the Busan Pharmaceutical Association, said hundreds of pharmacists in Busan had stopped selling Oxy products.
“We will continue to support the boycott until the company sincerely apologizes to the victims and compensates them,” he said.
Likening the incident to the Sewol ferry disaster, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon is also supporting the boycott.
During a live-cast on Facebook Thursday, he said the Seoul city government would stop using Oxy products.
“Such immoral companies must be punished accordingly to keep our society healthy,” he said.
His support came after 37 civic groups, including the Asian Citizen’s Center for Environment and Health, held a press conference in Seoul last week to call on consumers to join the boycott.
However, the boycott does not appear to be hindered sales much, because major retailers included the firm’s products in recent sales promotions.
But after drawing massive criticism, Lotte Mart and Homeplus, major retailers in Korea, said Sunday they had decided to exclude Oxy products from their promotions, at least for now.
Meanwhile, prosecutors are digging deeper into whether Oxy Reckitt Benckiser recognized the health risks of their products before releasing them. The company’s two sales officials and the president of its subcontractor are expected to be summoned on Monday for interrogation.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said it had already secured evidence that the company’s high-ranking executives approved the sales of its humidifier disinfectants while knowing the health risks.
If the evidence is accepted in court, those responsible for the incident could face charges of causing death through willful negligence _ a more serious crime than accidental homicide, in which the criminal did not have any intent to kill.
The Ministry of Environment said Saturday that it would now recognize more people as victims of the company’s products.
Previously, the government limited the damage scope only to those suffering from lung-related problems, recognizing 530 as official victims, 143 of whom are dead. But civic groups claim that 1,528 people were victims of the products, with 228 dead. The ministry is working to establish criteria for compensation.
Oxy Reckitt Benckiser said it would hold a press conference on Monday.