Sacheomwi "Unfair Selection of Business Operators for Humidifier Disinfectant Damage Relief"

"Problem with Designating Fee-Imposed Businesses
as Exempt Businesses"
Request for Audit Targeting Ministry of Environment Officials

On the 16th, Hwang Jeon-won, the third from the left and deputy chair of the Special Investigation Committee, spoke at a press conference held by the Special Investigation Committee on the Humidifier Disinfectant Incident and the April 16 Sewol Ferry Disaster in Jung-gu, Seoul, regarding the first Board of Audit and Inspection request for an audit targeting Ministry of Environment officials related to the humidifier disinfectant damage relief contribution.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The Special Investigation Commission on Social Disasters (SICSD) has requested an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection regarding Ministry of Environment officials who improperly selected exempted businesses in the process of calculating the 'business contribution fees' for victims of the humidifier disinfectant disaster.

On the 16th, SICSD held a press conference at Post Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul, stating, "The Ministry of Environment, as a government agency, neglected to properly verify and investigate, failing to conduct an accurate investigation of humidifier disinfectant businesses," adding, "As a result, problems occurred such as designating businesses subject to contribution fees as exempted businesses." They further stated, "The 'Special Act on Relief for Victims of Humidifier Disinfectants (Humidifier Disinfectant Special Act)' was enacted on August 9, 2017, and the disciplinary statute of limitations for those subject to Ministry of Environment audits expires on August 8 of this year," and "We request the Board of Audit and Inspection to promptly commence the audit and notify the start of the investigation so that the disciplinary statute of limitations can be suspended." The current Ministry of Environment officials subject to the audit requested by SICSD regarding the calculation of humidifier disinfectant damage contribution fees include one senior official, one section chief, one administrative officer, and one clerk.

The Ministry of Environment decided to collect 125 billion KRW in 'business contribution fees' from humidifier disinfectant businesses through the Humidifier Disinfectant Special Act enacted in 2017, to be used for victim support. However, when enacting the law, exemptions from business contribution fees were granted in cases such as ▲ when the sales volume of humidifier disinfectants was less than 1% of the total sales volume of humidifier disinfectants ▲ when the business qualifies as a small enterprise ▲ when the humidifier disinfectant does not contain toxic chemical substances.

SICSD judged that some officials committed professional negligence by selecting exempted businesses in violation of the law or by failing to conduct component analyses during the selection process. In the case of Company A, despite the Ministry of Environment's investigation confirming that sodium dichloroisocyanurate, designated as a toxic substance, was included in the product, it was not reflected, and the company was selected as an exempted business. Additionally, SICSD is requesting an audit regarding the fact that the Ministry of Environment has not yet conducted component analyses necessary to verify the presence of toxic chemical substances when selecting exempted businesses.

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