“All three of us are victims. The mother who bought the humidifier disinfectant with her own hands and gave it to her bedside is a sinner. As this child grew up, he is now 28 years old, attending hospitals with numerous illnesses and inability to breathe. My child made a bucket list and said,’Mom, I want to go out with my mom in pretty shoes when spring comes,’ so I went to the shoe store yesterday. But there are no shoes for this child. My child suffered from rheumatoid arthritis due to an immunity disorder, and now his limbs are distorted. I am a sinner who crippled my child with my own hands.”
A mother who said she had suffered from humidifier disinfectants with her two daughters said this. I cried throughout the introduction of the story, and then I couldn’t stand the tears that erupted and couldn’t speak for a while.
“Investigate the truth of the humidifier disinfectant catastrophe of 1613 deaths.” Humidifier disinfectant victims and civic groups held a press conference in front of the National Assembly Building in Yeouido, Seoul on the morning of the 22nd and urged the government to establish special measures and investigate the truth. Nine people attended the event, including civic groups related to humidifier disinfectants and victims.
The press conference began with silence on the victims of humidifier disinfectants. They condemned the results of the humidifier disinfectant-related trial, saying that it was “a judgment against common sense.” At the same time, he asked for a thorough investigation of the truth, saying, “There are suspicions that the administration, legislatures, opposition parties such as the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Fair Trade Commission have abandoned their duties.
On the 12th, former representatives and executives and employees of a manufacturer and seller of’humidifier mate’ containing certain chemical substances were acquitted. The 23rd Division of the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Agreement (President Judge Yoo Young-geun) pleaded acquittal to Ahn Yong-chan, former CEO of Aekyung Industrial and Hong Ji-ho, former CEO of SK Chemicals, who were handed over to the trial on charges of negligence and manslaughter in related work.
The judiciary judged, “It is difficult to say that it has been proven that chloromethylisothiazolinone (CMIT) and methylisothiazolinone (MIT)-based humidifier disinfectants cause lung disease or asthma.” The prosecution appealed against the judgment.
Civic groups and victims △Re-amended the Special Act on Social Disaster Truth Investigation △Strict Truth Investigation △Re-assurance of the right to find out the facts of the Special Task Force △Complete investigation of the victims’ clinical medical records △Use of overseas research on the harmfulness of CMIT and MIT △ Epidemiological investigations △ Holding seminars inviting scholars and doctors in related fields from around the world △ Using AI diagnosis from doctors and medical institutions selected by the victims, etc. A total of eight’special measures’ were urged.
The group urged that the authority of the Special Assistance Committee be guaranteed again, saying, “The authority to investigate the truth of the Special Investigation Committee on Humidifier Disinfectant Social Disasters was deleted in the process of revising the Act.” He criticized, “The fact is still far from being found, given the fact that there are many victims who have not yet been recognized as the target of relief, or whose benefits are insignificant even if they are recognized, and the recent judiciary’s innocence.
They also opposed plans for additional experiments on medium-sized animals to prove causality. In response to a statement by Environment Minister Han Han-ae at a personnel hearing held on the 21st to prove causality by conducting additional experiments on medium-sized animals, the group said, “Mice and medium-sized animals have different physiological mechanisms than humans.” “I can’t believe the experimental design, process, and results conducted by no experts.”
“Both me and my son are suffering,” said Park Hye-jung, the victim of the victim’s emergency response committee, who suffered from humidifier disinfectant damage. He said in the ruling of the first trial, “A ruling with a victim but without an offender is ridiculous,” he said. “I hope that the government, the National Assembly, and the newly established special control committee should not be buried roughly by giving the authority to investigate the truth.”
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