Former Oxy head gets 7 years in prison
Family members of victims of the deadly humidifier disinfectants hold a press conference following a court ruling that sentenced former head of Oxy Reckitt Benckiser, the local unit of U.K.-based Reckitt Benckiser, to seven years in prison, in front of the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul, Friday. / Yonhap
By Lee Kyung-min
A district court in Seoul sentenced Shin Hyun-woo, 68, a former head of Oxy Reckitt Benckiser (ORB), the local unit of U.K.-based Reckitt Benckiser, to seven years in prison, Friday, for failing to ensure the safety of the firm’s humidifier disinfectant. The chemical caused respiratory problems for 181 people, including 73 deaths.
Google Korea CEO John Lee, the former head of ORB, was acquitted of all charges due to a lack of evidence. The court ordered ORB to pay 150 million won ($126,000) in fines.
The prosecution earlier sought 20 years and 10 years in prison for Shin and Lee, respectively, on charges of manslaughter and professional negligence resulting in death. The trial included numerous figures and companies involved in manufacturing and selling the deadly disinfectant.
The Seoul Central District Court said the accused, including Shin, deserve harsh punishment for incurring irrevocable damage to the victims.
“Many of the victims were pregnant women and children. It is unimaginable how much pain their family members had to go through feeling helpless as they watched their loved ones die without knowing why,” Judge Choi Chang-young said.
“Had they paid more attention to the safety of the products before or after their market release, they could have either prevented the tragedy, or at least limited the number of victims,” the court added.
Parents of the children victims were subject to enormous undue guilt feeling that they killed their children by buying and using the product, when such blame should be placed on the manufactures, the court added.
“Victims bought the products based on the false advertizing label that claimed the ingredients were ‘harmless to humans’ and ‘safe to use for children,’ which were all untrue,” the judge said.
A seven-year prison term and a 150 million won fine are the maximum punishments allowable to the accused in this case.
Under the current law, manslaughter and professional negligence resulting in death are both punishable by a prison term of up to five years. False advertizing of commercial products is punishable by a prison term of up to two years.
Victims and their families weren’t satisfied with the court’s decisions. Gathering outside the court after the verdicts were announced, they claimed the two former ORB heads deserve graver punishments.
Meanwhile, two former researchers at an ORB research institute, known only as Kim and Cho, were both sentenced to seven years.
The CEO of Butterfly Effect, the manufacturer of Cefu, another disinfectant, was sentenced to seven years, and the company was fined 150 million won. The firm was responsible for 27 victims including 14 deaths.
Former chiefs of Lotte Mart and Home plus, two major retail chains here which produced similar toxic disinfectants, were sentenced to four and five years in prison, respectively. Home plus was fined 150 million won. Lotte Mart avoided the fine.
The humidifier disinfectant scandal which surfaced in 2011 was the worst biocide crisis in Korea. According to government statistics, 143 victims were reported to have died so far. But civic groups claim the death toll exceeds 1,000.
After almost five years of low recognition, the case drew attention earlier last year after the prosecution decided to investigate the case. ORB is responsible for the highest number of deaths.