Apology not accepted, say victims

Seoul: Household goods manufacturer Oxy Reckitt Benckiser, which is blamed for over 103 deaths arising from the use of toxic humidifier disinfectant, apologised and vowed to establish an independent panel to compensate the victims.

But the press conference was suspended briefly as victims and their families who attended erupted in anger, shouting “too late” and “cannot forgive”.

The official press conference by the company, formally renamed Reckitt Benckiser Korea, was held five years after the first death of a user of toxic humidifier disinfectant was reported in 2011.

Atar Safdar, the head of Oxy Reckitt Benckiser Korea, was expressing the firm’s apology at a hotel in Seoul, when the event descended into chaos.

A teenager with a big, green oxygen tank and four other people walked up to the stage to confront Safdar.

“Can you save the child? What are you going to do?” said a woman, in a scene broadcast live on television.

“Why did it take so long?” a man said.

Safdar was reportedly slapped and pushed several times.

He was finally able to resume his statement, in which he offered a “heartfelt and sincere apology” to all the victims and said his company was committed to a multi-million dollar compensation plan.

“If we find any evidence that we did wrong, we will take swift and immediate collective action,” he said.

Victims and victims’ families also requested to meet a person from the UK headquarters.

Safdar has vowed not to leave the Seoul office until the tragedy is resolved. He has been heading Oxy RB Korea for two years.

Regarding compensation, the firm reiterated its plan to set up funds and said it would create an independent panel comprised of experts by July 26 to discuss the exact amount to be given to victims.

Safdar said the company would provide 10 billion won (RM34mil) to a humanitarian fund for them.

An additional five billion won (RM17mil) fund, announced earlier this month, will be used for potential and other victims of humidifier disinfectant who are not included in their compensation plan.

He called the day “an important milestone in achieving progress for victims”.

But the victims and families rejected the apology, appealing to the public to boycott the firm.

Later, some of the victims joined by two other groups filed a suit against eight executive members from the firm’s headquarters in Britain, including chief executive officer Rakesh Kapoor, demanding that the prosecution summon them to Korea for a probe. — The Korea Herald/Asia News Network/AP