Some victims of the toxic humidifier sterilizers, produced by Oxy Reckitt Benckiser, rejected the firm's compensation plan on Monday, saying they won't accept the offer until the ongoing investigations by state prosecutors and parliamentary probes are concluded.

The victims and their families also denounced the compensation plan as failing to "adequately" reflect their views, stressing that the company is trying to quickly settle the issue by exploiting the "extreme mental pain and economic difficulties" that they have long suffered from.


Under its compensation program announced Sunday, Oxy RB plans to pay for all the treatments caused by the side effects of using the disinfectants. It also plans to provide up to 350 million won ($314,000) in compensation to the victims for any mental pain they had to endure.

"We will not accept the compensation plan until official investigations are wrapped up to ensure that the victims' pains and Oxy's inhumane practices will not be just buried and forgotten by the compensation money, and that their wrongdoings can be rectified," the group of the victims and their families said in a statement.

South Korea has confirmed 221 victims in the case. Among them, 177 had used Oxy products. Out of 90 deaths, 70 are believed to have been caused by products made by the British firm.

The humidifier disinfectant case came to light after four pregnant women died of unknown lung problems in 2011. A government-led investigation confirmed a connection between more than a hundred people who died of lung problems and the chemicals used to clean household humidifiers. (Yonhap)