The prosecution said Monday it has found additional evidence to prove that Oxy Reckitt Benckiser sold its problematic humidifier disinfectant in the market while being aware of its ingredient toxicity, based on a state report made four years ago.

Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said they had found the Korea Fair Trade Commission’s chemicals labeling report which showed that the company – now formally renamed Reckitt Benckiser Korea -- had received material safety data sheets (MSDS) on PHMG from ingredient providers, which had specified that PHMG should not be eaten or inhaled by humans. The exact date of when the MSDS was exchanged remains undisclosed.

The MSDS is a mandatory document submitted when trading chemicals. Hence, this indicates that the company had known of the toxic chemical, despite Oxy’s claim that it was not aware of the toxicity of PHMG, prosecutors said.

The KFTC report was made in August 2012 when the agency launched a separate probe into Oxy’s alleged false indication of ingredients. The agency later fined the company 52 million won ($44,000).

The MSDS information was shared in every step of the chemical trading from PHMG manufacturer SK Chemicals to humidifier disinfectant manufacturer Oxy, the KFTC said.

Prosecution sources also said that Oxy allegedly destroyed all the MSDS from 2001 to 2011, ahead of the prosecutorial probe launched earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the prosecution on Monday summoned an original equipment manufacturer head surnamed Kim, who manufactured disinfectants that Lotte Mart and Homeplus sold as their private brand goods.

Of the total official 221 victims, 41 used Lotte Mart’s product, with 16 deaths, and 28 used Homeplus’s product, with 12 deaths.

Lotte Mart and Homeplus sold the humidifier disinfectants made of PHMG from 2006 and 2004, respectively, until August 2011 when the government announced the toxicity of the humidifier disinfectant.

The prosecution suspects that Lotte Mart and Homeplus copied the manufacturing manual of Oxy, unlike Oxy which developed and tested the product on its own.

It has banned the overseas travel of former Lotte Mart head Lee Chul-woo and former Homeplus head Lee Seung-han.

Meanwhile, the victims and their families launched a group compensation lawsuit on Monday against the central government, disinfectant manufacturers and distributors.

Minbyun, a group of liberal lawyers who are supporting the lawsuit, said 436 people filed the lawsuit to seek 11 billion won of compensation against the government and 22 companies, including Oxy, SK Chemicals and Cefu.
Of the plaintiffs, 235 are the actual victims, with 51 dead. Of those victims, 63 are underage and five were killed, Minbyun said.

The group said it will seek 50 million won for each dead victim, 30 million won each for those who suffers lung damage, and 10 million for each family member of the victims for mental damage.

“The Constitution Article 36 stipulates that the health of all citizens should be protected by the state. The country should have taken clear measures to protect the public,” said lawyer Choi Jae-hong, who leads the group lawsuit.
“The prosecution and the Environment Ministry have kept the stance that they are uncertain of their legal accountability, citing the lack of regulations in the past. However, it is likely that the country has compensation responsibility as it did not require the companies to conduct the inhalation-toxicity test, negligently allowing the sales of the problematic products.”

By Lee Hyun-jeong  (rene@heraldcorp.com)