Prosecution Criticizes First Trial Acquittal in CMIT·MIT Humidifier Disinfectant Case: "Misinterpretation of Facts and Legal Principles"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution criticized the first trial ruling that acquitted former executives of SK Chemicals and Aekyung Industrial of charges related to humidifier disinfectants and requested the appellate court to correct it.

On the 18th, at the first preparatory hearing of the appeal trial for former SK Chemicals CEO Hong Ji-ho and former Aekyung Industrial CEO Ahn Yong-chan, held at the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge Yoon Seung-eun, Kim Dae-hyun, Ha Tae-han), the prosecution argued, "The first trial's judgment is illegal as it misinterpreted facts and misunderstood the law."

The prosecution explained the reasons for the appeal, stating, "The humidifier disinfectant damage case is a social disaster caused by companies pursuing only monetary profit while neglecting health."

They pointed out, "Despite numerous pieces of evidence supporting the damage caused by humidifier disinfectants, the first trial selectively chose some phrases from research reports and some expert testimonies, rejecting scientific and rational grounds."

The prosecution also emphasized, "Considering animal experiments, epidemiological investigations, and expert testimonies, it is proven that humidifier disinfectants are causative agents of lung disease and asthma," adding, "Several experts who testified in the first trial even issued statements saying the first trial court misunderstood their testimonies."

In response, former CEO Hong Ji-ho's lawyer explained, "In this case, the humidifier disinfectant in question is not a product containing polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG), which has been confirmed to have a causal relationship with lung disease, but products mainly composed of chloromethylisothiazolinone (CMIT) and methylisothiazolinone (MIT)."

He added, "There was a February 2012 announcement by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stating no abnormal findings were discovered in CMIT·MIT component humidifier disinfectants, and a September 2017 prosecution decision to suspend indictment due to lack of evidence," calling it "an unreasonable prosecution contrary to past decisions."

He continued, "The first trial court made a conclusion after tremendous efforts, including questioning 34 witnesses, including experts, and reviewing nearly 100,000 pages of evidence records, and that conclusion is extremely reasonable."

Thirteen officials from Aekyung Industrial, SK Chemicals, and E-Mart, manufacturers of humidifier disinfectants containing CMIT·MIT components, were prosecuted on charges of professional negligence causing death but were all acquitted in the first trial in January.

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