AmorePacific chief faces lawsuit over 'toxic' toothpastes

Suh Kyung-bae, Amore Pacific Chairman / Korea Times file

By Park Si-soo

A total of 315 people joined the suit, each demanding 1 million won in compensation, said their representative, law firm Next Law.

The firm is collecting clients to file an additional lawsuit against the company, its officials said.

Hundreds of people have filed a damages suit against Korea’s leading cosmetics firm, AmorePacific, for alleged “toxic” toothpastes that were recalled last month.

The legal action came a week after the government ordered a recall of 11 toothpaste products made and sold by the company. The products were confirmed to have contained methylisothiazolinone (MIT) and chloromethylisothiazolinone (CMIT), toxic chemicals used in Oxy Reckitt Benckiser’s deadly humidifier sterilizers that have been blamed for the deaths of more than 100 people. The two toxic substances are used as preservatives in the products, but they are banned from toothpaste in Korea.

The 11 recalled brands include Median Fresh Forest Toothpaste, Median Fresh Marin Toothpaste, Median Vital Energy Toothpaste, Median Vital Clean Toothpaste and Median Vital Action Toothpaste. None of the brands have been exported officially, an AmorePacific spokeswoman said.

Earlier, a group of AmorePacific toothpaste users filed a complaint with the prosecution, demanding a formal investigation of the company’s chairman, Suh Kyung-bae, and other key executives for alleged negligence and health law violations.