Prosecutors Launch Investigation into Fair Trade Commission's Alleged Mishandling of Humidifier Disinfectant Case... First Complainant Questioned

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The prosecution has launched a full-scale investigation into the allegations that the Fair Trade Commission's probe into the so-called 'humidifier disinfectant' case was conducted inadequately.

According to the legal community on the 21st, the Criminal Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kang Ji-sung) began summoning and investigating Yoo Seon-joo, the chief accuser in this case and former Fair Trade Commission adjudication manager, from 10 a.m. today.

Before the investigation, former manager Yoo stated, "I will open the 'illegal corruption box' of the Fair Trade Commission officials who devoted their utmost efforts to downplaying, distorting, and unlawfully handling the case," adding, "I will purge corruption and embrace compliance and trust." She continued, "Accepting that compliance and truthfulness are constitutional honors, I will do my best to uncover the truth of this case with the hope for public officials who seek to practice public interest."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, former manager Yoo and Mr. Lee, among the victims of the humidifier disinfectant, filed a complaint in June last year against 16 Fair Trade Commission officials, including former Chairman Kim Sang-jo, on charges of dereliction of duty, abuse of authority, and evidence destruction. This was due to the Fair Trade Commission's inadequate investigation during the probe into violations of the Act on Labeling and Advertising by humidifier disinfectant manufacturers SK Chemical and Aekyung Industrial.

They claimed that the Fair Trade Commission failed to fulfill its obligation to verify the expressions such as 'harmless to the human body' and 'helps family health' and to disclose experimental data during the process of imposing sanctions on SK Chemical and Aekyung Industrial.

Additionally, they explained that the Fair Trade Commission granted immunity by not sanctioning or prosecuting large corporations and imposed the burden of proving damages individually on the victims, arguing that criminal responsibility should be borne for this.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.