[Unofficial English translation provided by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

South Korean companies involved in the humidifier sanitizer incident hide behind Oxy Reckitt Benckiser, 16 Aug 2022

Most name Oxy Reckitt Benckiser ("Oxy") as the company responsible for the humidifier sanitizer incident. [...] However, Oxy is not the only company responsible. There are many Korean companies that hide behind Oxy's shadow.

[...] The news team analyzed the websites and business reports of Korean companies responsible for the humidifier sanitizer incident, including SK Chemicals, SK Innovation, Aekyung Industrial Co., Lotte Shopping, Homeplus, LG Household & Health Care, E-mart, and GS Retail. [...] There were no evidence of remorse or space to access information regarding the incident on any of the websites and business reports.

[...] Earlier this year, the 'Humidifier Sanitizer Damage Mediation Committee' made the decision that the nine companies should pay around 920 billion Won. However, Oxy and Aekyung refused, practically voiding the decision. Oxy and Aekyung gave the reason that "the proportion of burden should be distributed among the companies rationally." Explicitly, they claimed that SK Chemical should bear more burden since it produced the raw ingredient of the humidifier sanitizer.

[...] A spokesperson for SK Chemicals responded that "our understanding is that the proportions were determined by the Mediation Committee after adequate discussions." When asked whether SK Chemicals has any intention to lead the process, they responded that "that is realistically difficult." The rest of the companies are keeping their silence while repeating the standard response that they "will actively participate if the mediation is restarted." As companies pass around responsibility, the discussions about compensation is at an 'all-stop'.

[...]