Arrest warrant rejected for former Oxy Reckitt Benckiser CEO

Posted on : 2016-06-18 15:45 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
John Lee is accused of allowing the sale of harmful humidifier disinfectant after effects became apparent, causing widespread harm
Former Oxy Reckitt Benckiser CEO John Lee appears at Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office in Seoul’s Seocho district
Former Oxy Reckitt Benckiser CEO John Lee appears at Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office in Seoul’s Seocho district

An arrest warrant request for the former CEO of Oxy Reckitt Benckiser was rejected on June 17.

Cho Ui-yeon, chief judge for warrants at Seoul Central District Court, issued the decision after conducting a warrant validity questioning of former Oxy Reckitt Benckiser CEO John Lee the day before.

“Given the potential for dispute with the explanatory capabilities and specific facts regarding the charges in the evidential materials collected to date, neither grounds nor need for arrest can be acknowledged,” Cho ruled.

A Korean-American, Lee served as CEO of Oxy RB between 2005 and 2010 after former chief Shin Hyun-woo stepped down. Lee is currently CEO of Google Korea.

Lee is being accused of allowing the continued sale of a humidifier disinfectant made with the harmful raw material polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG) even after its side effects became apparent, resulting in numerous injuries and fatalities. He is also accused of falsely advertising the disinfectant as “safe for children.”

Another Oxy RB executive, former CEO Gaurav Jain, has refused to comply with a summons by investigating prosecutors.

Meanwhile, a special investigating team with Seoul Central District Court requested arrest warrants on June 17 for the presidents of CDI, a company that supplied raw materials and performed consignment manufacturing of the sterilizer for Oxy, and Hanvit Chemical. Respectively surnamed Lee and Jeong, they face accusations of professional negligence resulting in death and injury.

Prosecutors currently plan to finish their investigation into sterilizer-related deaths and injuries around late June.

The Asian Citizens’ Center for Environment and Health issued a message demanding that the prosecutors not end the investigation “without investigating the government officials or properly investigating foreign executives.”

By Choi Hyun-june, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

button that move to original korean article (클릭시 원문으로 이동하는 버튼)

Related stories

Most viewed articles