Fair Trade Commission fines Aekyung and SK 110 million KRW... Prosecutors to be notified
5 days left before statute of limitations... FTC criticized for 'belated' response
Humidifier Disinfectants Displayed at the Hearing Room(Seoul=Yonhap News) Photo by Kim Sang-yeon = Humidifier disinfectant products are displayed at the 2019 Humidifier Disinfectant Disaster Truth-Finding Hearing held at the multipurpose hall of Seoul City Hall. 2019.8.27
[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has filed charges with the prosecution against humidifier disinfectant manufacturers Aekyung Industrial and SK Chemicals and imposed fines. They are accused of false and exaggerated advertising, claiming that the humidifier disinfectants were harmless to humans. Since the FTC excluded the relevant advertisements from review in 2016, there are criticisms that the recent sanctions were belatedly imposed under pressure from the Constitutional Court's decision.
The FTC announced on the 26th that at the plenary meeting on the 24th, it decided to impose a total fine of 110 million won on Aekyung Industrial and SK Chemicals. In addition, the FTC decided to file charges with the prosecution against Aekyung Industrial as a corporation and former CEO Ahn Yong-chan, as well as SK Chemicals as a corporation and CEOs Hong Ji-ho and Kim Chang-geun.
Fair Trade Commission Sanctions Unfair Advertising Practices by Humidifier Disinfectant Manufacturers and Sellers(Sejong=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Juhyung = Nam Dongil, Director of the Consumer Policy Bureau at the Fair Trade Commission, held a briefing on the morning of the 26th at the Government Sejong Complex in Sejong City regarding sanctions against unfair advertising practices by three humidifier disinfectant manufacturers and sellers, including Aekyung Industrial and SK Chemical.
The Fair Trade Commission explained that it decided to impose corrective orders and a total fine of 110 million won for advertising that falsely exaggerated the products as harmless and safe for humans despite the safety of the products not being objectively demonstrated or verified. 2022.10.26
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False and Exaggerated Advertising of Humidifier Disinfectants
The FTC holds that Aekyung Industrial and SK Chemicals falsely and exaggeratedly advertised their humidifier disinfectants as harmless and safe products for humans. Previously, Aekyung Industrial and SK Chemicals, through mutual consultation, developed pine needle-scented and lavender-scented humidifier disinfectants, releasing them in 2002 and 2005 respectively. At that time, Aekyung Industrial distributed press releases containing phrases such as "characterized by the use of antibacterial agents harmless to humans" and "helps the health of the whole family with safe ingredients for humans," which were reported through internet articles.
The problem was that there was no objective evidence that the humidifier disinfectants from Aekyung Industrial and SK Chemicals were harmless to humans. On the contrary, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the European Union Consumer Safety Science Committee (EU SCCS), the main ingredients of the humidifier disinfectants, CMIT/MIT, have high acute toxicity and cause skin and eye irritation. The U.S. EPA has warned that when using disinfectants for humidifier cleaning, they must be thoroughly rinsed to prevent chemical exposure to the air.
Eventually, Aekyung Industrial and SK Chemicals stopped selling the products and recalled them in 2011. This was because the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended refraining from releasing and using humidifier disinfectants in the same year. Furthermore, the Ministry of Environment designated CMIT/MIT and other humidifier disinfectant ingredients as toxic substances in 2012. Subsequently, since 2015, the Ministry of Environment has provided government subsidies to consumers who suffered lung damage from using humidifier disinfectants made by Aekyung Industrial and SK Chemicals.
Seated Chief Justice and Justices of the Constitutional Court (Seoul=Yonhap News) Photo by Park Dong-ju = Chief Justice Yoo Nam-seok and the Constitutional Court justices are seated in the Grand Bench of the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 29th of last month. On this day, the Constitutional Court will deliver a ruling on constitutional petitions related to the Fair Trade Commission's termination of the review of false advertising regarding humidifier disinfectants. 2022.9.29
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FTC: "Influence on Rational Purchase Decisions"
The FTC judged that there was a sufficient possibility that consumers were misled by the advertisements into believing that the humidifier disinfectants were safe for humans. An FTC official explained, "Ordinary consumers find it difficult to access information about product hazards or safety, so they have no choice but to rely on the information presented by businesses," adding, "(Such advertisements) can have a substantial impact on rational purchase decisions and may undermine fair trade order."
There is also a view that the FTC's sanctions were belated. Initially, in 2016, the FTC received victim reports that Aekyung Industrial and SK Chemicals deceived consumers through various advertisements and articles. However, the FTC excluded internet articles from the scope of advertisements and did not review them at that time. Victims of humidifier disinfectants filed a constitutional complaint, and last month, the Constitutional Court unanimously ruled that the FTC's judgment was unconstitutional.
The FTC ultimately decided on sanctions with just over a week left before the statute of limitations for the case expired. The prosecution has until the 30th of this month to indict Aekyung Industrial and SK Chemicals. Nam Dong-il, Director of the Consumer Policy Bureau at the FTC, said, "As a result, the handling of the case was considerably delayed," and added, "We deeply regret that there was a lack of proactive judgment to the extent intended by the Constitutional Court's decision."
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