Sacheomwi Begins Approval of 53 Ex Officio Investigation Tasks... Additional CCTV Footage Secured Just Before Sewol Ferry Sinking

"Humidifier Disinfectant Disaster Caused by Government Ministries' Poor Safety Management"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The Special Investigation Commission on Social Disasters (SICSD) has begun deliberations on 53 ex officio investigation tasks, including the Sewol ferry disaster and the humidifier disinfectant disaster. Additionally, they announced the further acquisition of CCTV footage restored to show the moments just before the Sewol ferry sank, as well as issues related to corporate and government management failures in the humidifier disinfectant disaster.

On the 16th, SICSD held a press briefing at the Post Tower in Seoul titled "Key Investigation Achievements and Future Schedule of SICSD." At the briefing, SICSD presented the investigation results so far on the humidifier disinfectant disaster and the Sewol ferry disaster.

SICSD stated that it has begun approving 53 ex officio investigation tasks. These 53 tasks include the cause of the Sewol ferry sinking, the initial development and manufacturing process of humidifier disinfectants, and government responsibilities related to both disasters. As of mid-month, completed ex officio investigations include ▲the initial development process and product supply of humidifier disinfectants ▲causes of low damage reporting and the scale of damage ▲institutional improvement plans for safe ship operation ▲and measures to strengthen the responsibilities of coastal passenger ship operators and crew to enhance maritime safety. The remaining 49 tasks will be sequentially approved in the future.

Key investigation results of the Sewol ferry disaster were also announced. SICSD stated, "We have restored CCTV footage capturing the three minutes just before the Sewol ferry sank," and added, "Although there was a claim that a malfunction in the ignition device caused the hull to make a sudden turn, actual experimental results have tentatively produced different findings." Going forward, from the 17th to the 23rd of this month, SICSD plans to conduct free-sailing model experiments with the Dutch marine company MARIN to verify the hull behavior of the Sewol ferry at the time of the accident.

Investigation results related to the humidifier disinfectant disaster were also disclosed. According to SICSD, SK Group (then Yukong), which developed the raw materials, did not conduct human safety reviews and sold the raw materials to Oxy RB, Homeplus, and Aekyung Industrial. Furthermore, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy was found to have inadequately managed the safety of humidifier disinfectant products, and the Ministry of Environment poorly managed the safety of raw materials. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was revealed to have poorly designed the 2011 "CMIT/MIT toxicity test" process. The Fair Trade Commission also handled the unfair advertising cases involving SK Chemical, Aekyung Industrial, and E-Mart inadequately. However, SICSD added that it is difficult to specify government officials and pursue legal responsibility due to the statute of limitations.

SICSD plans to conduct investigations until June 10 and prepare a comprehensive report by September 10 to be submitted to the National Assembly and the President. However, according to the supplementary provisions, the commissioners' term is set to end on June 10. Chairman Moon Ho-seung of SICSD stated, "We will resolve the issue of the mismatch between the activity period and the commission's term after March."

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