Fifteen Years On From the Humidifier Disinfectant Disaster, Victims Say "Stop Treating Us Like 'Ghosts'... We Want to Reclaim Happiness" - 경향신문
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Kim Tae-yun, head of the National Alliance of Victims of the Humidifier Disinfectant Disaster, shows a family photo during an interview with the Kyunghyang Shinmun at a restaurant in Jung District, Seoul, on the 29th of last month. Kwon Do-hyeon, reporter
In 1997, a couple ran two restaurants in an alley in the center of Seoul teeming with office workers. While running the business and sending the kids to school, the wife barely had a moment to breathe, yet the husband fell ill every other day. One day he said he felt a cold coming on; another day he said he had indigestion; on yet another day he complained of a headache. The wife often resented her husband, thinking, "I am this busy, so why is he sick so often?"
In May 2010, the husband was diagnosed with an "unknown lung disease" and was told he had limited time to live. After his condition deteriorated rapidly over the winter, he passed away before spring arrived. "Back then, I did not know why or how he was sick," recalled Kim Tae-yun, head of the National Alliance of Victims of the Humidifier Disinfectant Disaster. She later learned that he had long been using a humidifier disinfectant at home.
The government on December 24 last year designated the humidifier disinfectant case as a "disaster" and announced it would shift its role from administrative relief to an active compensation framework. President Lee Jae Myung said, "In a reality where no one takes responsibility, it is hard to even fathom how unjust and devastating it must have been," and added, "We will establish a comprehensive support plan for the victims of the humidifier disinfectant disaster and make full compensation." The new compensation system took effect on the 8th of last month. However, some victims, including Kim, fear that the new framework may actually narrow victims' rights. We met her on the 29th of last month at a restaurant in Jung District, Seoul, that she runs.
Since 2011, when the humidifier disinfectant disaster became known, 15 years have passed in which victims have been repeatedly disappointed. While Oxy executives and employees received prison sentences, punishment of executives and employees of SK, Aekyung, and E-Mart was delayed. The activities of the Special Investigation Commission on the Humidifier Disinfectant Incident and the April 16 Sewol Ferry Disaster (hereinafter, the Special Commission) fell short of what victims had hoped for. A 2022 mediation plan painstakingly crafted by victims and perpetrator companies never saw the light of day because companies including Oxy and Aekyung Industrial refused it. In 2024, even after the Supreme Court ruled that the state bears responsibility for the humidifier disinfectant disaster and the government declared it would lead full compensation, distrust and fatigue were still evident among victims.
Kim said, "We thought the Special Commission would get to the bottom of it, but it did not; we thought that once the perpetrator companies were identified, those responsible would be punished, but they were not. We were the fools for waiting." She continued, "If we hire one lawyer, the companies bring ten. It is like an egg striking a rock," and, "As the relevant laws keep changing, our efforts are wiped out each time, and even when it seems we are moving forward, we end up back where we started." Kim said it stings to see senior government officials visiting or paying respects to the bereaved families of other disasters. That day, she repeated several times that victims of the humidifier disinfectant disaster are treated like ghosts. "Elsewhere, the president pays tribute and the mayor shows up, but when it comes to us, they look the other way as if they did not see us," she said.
The National Alliance of Victims of the Humidifier Disinfectant Disaster argues that "the mere label of state compensation does not guarantee substantive compensation for victims" and warns that "depending on how recognition criteria, compensation standards, and the legal effect of settlements are designed and operated, the outcome could actually regress."
The group is calling on the government to reconsider its policy requiring applications for compensation to be filed within six months. They argue that victims whose harm appears belatedly or who struggle to prove causation could be left outside the compensation scheme. They also worry that for existing victims, recognition requirements may become stricter or the burden of proof heavier. They are asking for comprehensive treatment not only of hallmark illnesses such as lung damage and respiratory disease, but also of psychological trauma from long illness, changes in family relationships, and socioeconomic losses.
Under the previous relief system, the government classified victims into four tiers based on the correlation between humidifier disinfectant exposure and disease. Corporate compensation was provided mainly to Tier 1 and 2 victims. Her husband received a Tier 3 determination, which found a low likelihood of a link between humidifier disinfectant and lung disease, and he was excluded from corporate compensation.
At present, victim groups are divided into several organizations depending on whether harm has been recognized and on disease severity, and their demands differ. Even so, Kim said victims ultimately share the "same heart": to receive full compensation and regain their everyday lives. She said, "Start by compensating those who have passed away, and then take care of the remaining victims, including those who have not been recognized, step by step. We want to be able to feel happiness again and live."
