독 Bayer, agrees to $13 trillion settlement in US lawsuit over 'carcinogenic herbicide'

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] German pharmaceutical company Bayer announced on the 24th (local time) that it has decided to settle the 'carcinogenic herbicide' lawsuit filed in the United States with a settlement amount of approximately 13 trillion won.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and others, Bayer stated in a press release that it will pay a total settlement of $10.9 billion (about 13.1 trillion won) in the lawsuit filed against its subsidiary Monsanto's 'Roundup' herbicide. Bayer inherited the Roundup lawsuits after acquiring Monsanto and has been negotiating for nearly two years.

Roundup, developed in 1974, is a herbicide sold in more than 160 countries, with high demand mainly in the United States. In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified it as a carcinogenic substance, leading to at least 125,000 lawsuits filed in the U.S.

Under this settlement, Bayer will pay up to $9.6 billion for currently filed lawsuits and set aside $1.25 billion to prepare for potential future lawsuits. Considering the lawsuits filed so far, it is expected that $5 billion will be spent this year and an additional $5 billion next year. Three lawsuits not included in this settlement will continue.

However, Bayer did not acknowledge the carcinogenic potential of Roundup itself and plans to continue sales, WSJ reported. Werner Baumann, Bayer's CEO, said, "The Roundup settlement is a timely decision made by Bayer to end long-standing uncertainty." Earlier, Bayer emphasized that all government regulatory authorities found no link between glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, and cancer.

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