Fertilizer Factory Owner Responsible for Cancer Outbreak... Supreme Court Confirms 2-Year Prison Sentence

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The CEO of a fertilizer factory who purchased tobacco waste and tobacco stems, which produce large amounts of carcinogens, and used them as raw materials for fertilizer sales, has ultimately been criminally punished. Many residents developed cancer due to the carcinogens emitted from this fertilizer factory, and some have died.

According to the legal community on the 17th, the Supreme Court upheld the original sentence of two years imprisonment in the final appeal trial of CEO A of Geumgang Nongsan, who was indicted for violating the Fertilizer Control Act and other charges.

The company operated by A was located about 500 meters from Jangjeom Village in Iksan City, Jeonbuk Province. A was prosecuted for purchasing tobacco waste and tobacco stems, which should only be used as compost, and using them as raw materials for mixed organic fertilizer to sell, and was sentenced to two years imprisonment in both the first and second trials.

While running the company, when the company’s financial situation became difficult in January 2015, A used tobacco stems, which should not be used as fertilizer raw materials, as raw materials and sold them. It is known that the tobacco stems were received from KT&G at about 100 won per kilogram.

The problem was that from 2001 to 2017, among 99 residents of Jangjeom Village in Iksan, 22 were diagnosed with cancer, and more than 10 of them died. In response, the Ministry of Environment launched an investigation and later officially recognized the epidemiological link between the carcinogens emitted from the nearby fertilizer factory (tobacco stems) and the residents’ cancer.

The first trial court ruled that A, factory managers B and C, and Geumgang Nongsan violated the Fertilizer Control Act by using tobacco stems as raw materials for mixed organic fertilizer, sentencing A to two years imprisonment, and B and C to one year imprisonment with two years probation each. Geumgang Nongsan was fined 5 million won with one year probation.

The second trial overturned the original judgment due to a change in the prosecution’s indictment, but maintained A’s sentence of two years imprisonment as in the first trial. Appeals by B, C, and Geumgang Nongsan were dismissed.

Meanwhile, residents of Jangjeom Village are currently filing a damages lawsuit against Jeonbuk Province and Iksan City, claiming they failed to properly manage and supervise Geumgang Nongsan.

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