hankyoreh

Ata Safdar

During a press conference on May 2, Oxy Reckitt Benckiser apologized and admitted responsibility for the harm caused by its line of humidifier disinfectants, which resulted in 103 deaths. But the victims are finding no consolation in this belated apology, which comes five years after the issue was first raised.

Ata Safdar, head of Oxy Reckitt Benckiser Korea, held a press conference at the Conrad Seoul Hotel in Seoul on May 2, at which he apologized to the victims and their family members.

Oxy Reckitt Benckiser is the South Korean branch of Reckitt Benckiser, a consumer goods company from the UK.

Safdar offered a contrite and heartfelt apology to all of the people who suffered lung damage from the humidifier disinfectant and to their families. While bowing his head several times, he expressed his keen feelings of responsibility for the fact that his company’s product was linked to the humidifier disinfectant scandal and that his company had not taken appropriate measures more quickly.

Safdar promised that the company would provide quick and fair compensation to users of Oxy products whom had been found by the Korea Centers for Disease Control or the Ministry of Environment to have suffered level 1 or level 2 lung damage from humidifier disinfectants.

Toward this end, the company intends to set up an independently operated panel of experts by July and to prepare a compensation proposal that will take into account the opinions of the victims.

Safdar also asked other manufacturers and sellers to participate in setting up transparent procedures for compensating victims who used Oxy along with products by other companies, including Lotte Mart and Homeplus.

In order to compensate some victims who were not found by the government to have suffered level 1 or level 2 lung damage, Oxy announced that it is planning to use a humanitarian fund worth 10 billion won (US$8.80 million).

While Oxy had previously refused all requests for media interviews, on Monday it accepted questions from reporters for the first time. But Safdar either denied or avoided direct comment about sensitive questions, such as whether the company had been previously aware about the harmful effects of the humidifier disinfectant and whether it had covered up or distorted the results of toxicity testing in order to destroy evidence.

During the middle of the press conference, family members of the victims climbed on to the platform and made their displeasure clear, saying that the apology was too late. Angry protesters called Safdar a murderer and asked if he had kids of his own.

After the press conference was over, Choi Seung-woon, the head of a group representing the victims’ families, grabbed the microphone. Choi lost her son shortly after his first birthday due to a product by Oxy Reckitt Benckiser.

“We reject this insincere apology that the company is making now after disregarding our demands for an apology for five years,” Choi said. “Oxy Reckitt Benckiser is a blot on our society, and we demand that it voluntarily shut down its operations in South Korea and close its doors.”

“This apology is just an attempt by the British company to make its Korean branch take the hit,” said Kim Deok-jong, a family member of one of the victims who protested in front of the Reckitt Benckiser headquarters in the UK last year.

By Yoo Shin-jae and Park Su-ji, staff reporters

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