In May 2016, a boycott campaign against the humidifier sterilizer company called Oxy Reckitt Benckiser (Oxy) was staged nationwide for a month with the whole nation’s fierce and active participation in Korea. As the sales of Oxy products noticeably decreased, Oxy suffered a strong blow. However, it was only fleeting. The intense scene that the reporter witnessed could not gain the attention of the public, even though the hearings related to it were held in the National Assembly in August.

The tragedy of humidifier sterilizers is a problem that began a great while ago, but no sign of its conclusion can be seen. Nevertheless, what kind of effort will people continue to solve this problem? The Argus visited the concentrated sit-in site of humidifier sterilizer victims, located in front of Oxy headquarters, to find out the progress of the affair.

Sit-in site in front of Oxy headquarters

Arriving at Oxy headquarters

On Aug. 24, the Humidifier sterilizer Tragedy Nationwide Network (HTNN), composed of victims and 150 civic groups from all over the country, started a sit-in requesting a boycott and liquidation of Oxy. They held a press conference in front of Oxy Korea’s headquarters located in Yeouido, Seoul, and showed their ambition by staging a two-week concentrated sit-in, saying, “We should stop observing the insolent attitude of Oxy. The government and the National Assembly should cancel the Korean business license of Oxy and banish it from Korea.”

The Argus visited their concentrated sit-in site on Aug. 30, when the second hearing was held and HTNN was engaging in the seventh day of their sit-in. Nearby Yeouido station, the International Financial Center (IFC), where Oxy is located, looked very splendid and magnificent. In front of the IFC, a tiny sit-in site that could not be compared to the overwhelming scale of the building was standing firm. It was hidden behind the massive figure, so the reporter had a hard time finding it.

There were only three people maintaining the site. The signature campaign to prevent a second Oxy disaster was under way. Two people were continually asking pedestrians for support for victims, shouting, “We are gathering signatures for humidifier sterilizer victims. Please support us, so this kind of incident will never happen again.” On the other hand, a man inside the booth was working busily with his laptop while answering his endlessly ringing phone. They seemed to have had no breakfast since they started the sit-in from the early morning, so small snacks like baked goods were laid on the table.

Seeing the site, The Argus ran to the booth, greeted the sit-in participants, and signed the petition. The reporter could see many citizens had already signed the petition. With their signatures, people wrote warm messages such as “Fight” or “Cheer up” to encourage the victims. Moreover, there were many words like “Do right” that rebuked Oxy or the government’s irresponsible attitude of an onlooker for the past five years. After the writer finished signing, with words of “Thank you,” a sit-in participant handed over a leaflet that criticized Oxy.

Around the sit-in site

There was a lot of equipment installed to attract people’s attention. In the center of the booth, a number of yellow placards, saying “Punish the enterprise that invented and sold humidifier sterilizer,” and “The government who gave permission should be responsible” were hung up. Along with those, a child with a shaved head breathing heavily with a respirator on his nose was drawn on a big banner. The picture titled “Stolen Breath” was composed of the words PGH, PHMG, MIT, CMIT, words that express the main ingredients of the humidifier sterilizer, or the poisonous chemicals.

Yeom Hyung-chul, the secretary general of the Korea Federation for Environment Movement, one of the civic groups that support the victims the most, said, “Victims are mostly mothers or babies. The picture was drawn based on one of the actual victims.”

Right beside the site, a box for collecting Oxy products was standing. It said “Citizens participating in the Oxy boycott! Please put your Oxy products in this box! We will return these to Oxy!” The box was stacked with a lot of Oxy products, but garbage unrelated to Oxy was there as well. As if citizens treated the Oxy products as waste, they expressed their anger and dissatisfaction toward Oxy by throwing Oxy products away with random trash.

Desolate sit-in site compared to an active city

Sit-in participants endeavored diligently to describe the faults of Oxy to more people. However, unlike IFC’s overall atmosphere with young people busily walking by with ties on, the sit-in site was empty although it was a hot social issue. There were a few who showed interest in the boycott leaflets, but most people indifferently passed by the site, ignoring the voices asking for signatures. Workers with suits on would idly chatter right beside the site, apathetic, as if it was an event happening in another world.

When the clock hit lunch time, the attendees went out onto the street and demanded pedestrians’ attention, holding picket signs condemning Oxy. However, most citizens looked away and passed them by. The wind grew more intense so that the tent and the pickets seemed likely to fly away. A middle-aged female participant grounded the promotions and said, “We started the sit-in under the blazing sun. Now the wind is blowing, and the weather is getting cold.” They continued the demonstration disregarding the cold indifference of people not unlike the chilly weather.

The sit-in site was managed through team play. Mostly seven people or less from HTNN were keeping the site relay. Since they could not leave the spot, they ate lunch in turns. Their original plan was to hold an all-night demonstration, but they changed to starting it at 9 a.m. and wrapping up at 9 p.m., because they only had a few attendees.

Yeom, who was usually busily answering his phone, became free for a moment. He spoke to the reporter. “The hearing is being held in the National Assembly right now, so every victim and their family members are there. Thus, there are not so many people who can stay at this site.”

Press conference at the National Assembly

The Argus observed the sit-in site for three hours and quickly moved to the National Assembly after hearing from Yeom that a press conference would be held there. When the reporter arrived on the scene, the people from HTNN were holding a press conference. Two members of HTNN were holding a huge banner bigger than three male adults. A list of the dead that included both the names and the dates of their death was written tightly in small letters on the banner. Other members were holding small placards with both hands.

Their blank looks and outstretched arms expressed their strong will. On one of them was written “Citizens are not Maruta.” “Maruta” is a word meaning “log” in Japanese, which refers to the victims of the tests conducted using living people carried out by Japanese Imperial Army Unit 731 during World War II. They were referring to humidifier sterilizer victims as “Maruta,” as though they were treated like the test objects of a major company.

On Aug. 30, the second hearing was held. On this day, SK Chemicals Co., Ltd., the main culprit who provided 90 percent of the poisonous chemical as the main ingredient in the sterilizer, and domestic companies that did not admit their fault in the matter were mainly dealt with.

A man who held the microphone as a representative of HTNN shouted, “We ask for a strong hearing and an apology from SK Chemicals, Aekyung, and E-mart.” In addition, he revealed, “The Board of Audit and Inspection is protecting domestic companies that are seriously responsible. We are planning to pursue criminal charges so that they cannot escape from a citizens’ trial.”
After the long statement, they had short interviews with a mass of reporters and went into the National Assembly to attend the hearing.

After hearings

What kind of expectations did the victims have? Will the truth be revealed in the hearing that will be held in five years? Will the people in charge apologize sincerely? However, the hearings that ended in three sessions are bound to disappoint the victims.

Lim Heung-kyu, the team leader of ACCEHO, said, “No progress was made and it fell short of victims’ expectations. Enterprises shifted the culpability to each other and gave insincere answers. No one truly apologized.”
One victim’s family said, “It is very cruel of them to ignore these victims whose lives have been a living hell for the past five years.”

As the hearings came to an end, the interest of media decreased as well. When the hearings ended, the reporters who were at the same spot with The Argus were hurrying to leave the place. Sure enough, no articles related to the Oxy hearings could be found on the major newspapers or the Internet.

Kang Chan-ho, the representative of HTNN, expressed his frustration saying, “I was very surprised to see the fervor of coverage decrease as the hearings were being held. I think the media is not performing its real role - to find an ontic truth.” He also added, “I cannot understand the three major broadcasting companies that rejected the official live broadcast request by the exclusive investigation team.”

Although the hearings were held three times, everything is still unknown ?whether assailants will be punished or not, whether the system will change to prevent a recurrence or not. After the investigation of the government is over, the humidifier sterilizer disaster special committee will revisit Oxy headquarters in Great Britain to solve this problem on Oct. 4. Victims will continue this endless fight in October, and even next year to reveal the truth and get apologies. However, only the public’s interest in it can help solve the problem.

Choi Jun-ho, one of the supporters of this tragedy, said, “If we citizens, the government, and enterprises do not forget this disaster too easily, then we will be able to prevent recurrences at least, although the problem is unsolved. Isn’t it our responsibility to stop additional deaths from occurring?”

All photos by Byun Hee-jin / The Argus
Associate Editor of Campus Section