SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The South Korean top court on Thursday ordered a humidifier sanitizer manufacturer and a supplier to pay compensation to a victim of the chemical product.
The Supreme Court upheld an appellate court's ruling that ordered Oxy Reckitt Benckiser Korea and Hanvit Chemical to pay 5 million won (3,820 U.S. dollars) to the plaintiff, surnamed Kim.
Between November 2007 and April 2011, Kim used a humidifier disinfectant, produced and sold by Oxy and supplied by Hanvit, before being diagnosed with interstitial lung disease in May 2013.
The victim filed a damages suit against Oxy and Hanvit in February 2015.
A district court dismissed the case, but the appellate court ordered the maker and the supplier to pay compensation in September 2019, a ruling confirmed by the top court earlier in the day.
The humidifier sanitizer disaster dated back to 2011 when users reported deaths and illnesses allegedly tied to the chemical product.
The number of victims reportedly stood at 5,041 in July 2023. A special law for the victims was passed through the parliament in 2017. ■
