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20 years ago, when the humidifier disinfectant was released, the Fair Trade Commission belatedly filed a complaint against the manufacturers to the prosecution for posting an article on the Internet that the product was harmless to the human body.

In the past, there were only five days left of the statute of limitations, when there was no review, but now sanctions can be held to hold them accountable. 



Reporter Lee Hye-mi reports.



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In 2002, Aekyung Industrial issued a press release announcing the launch of a humidifier disinfectant developed with SK Chemicals.



It is a product that helps the health of the whole family and is harmless to the human body.



This phrase was delivered to consumers as an article in an Internet newspaper.



Nine years later, when the harmfulness of humidifier disinfectants became known, an investigation by the FTC began against manufacturers who concealed the fact that their products contained toxic substances and emphasized only the positive effects.



But at that time, the Fair Trade Commission was passive.



The punishment was delayed saying that CMIT/MIT ingredients were not confirmed to be harmful to the human body, and Internet articles that said the product was safe were not even considered as advertisements.



[Attorney Song Ki-ho / Humidifier Disinfectant Victims Lawyer: I would like to evaluate that the Fair Trade Commission systematically and structurally prevented even the punishment of false advertisements that deceive consumers and lead to false and wrong choices.]



In response, the victim filed a constitutional complaint six years ago, and at the end of last month, the Constitutional Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for the Fair Trade Commission to exclude Internet articles from the review, saying it was an investigation against justice and equity.



The Fair Trade Commission, which hastily re-invested, imposed a fine of 100 million won on two manufacturers, Aekyung and SK Chemicals, for violating the Labeling and Advertising Act, and filed a complaint with the prosecution against those involved.



[Nam Dong-il/Director of Consumer Policy Bureau, Fair Trade Commission: As a result, the processing of the case has been considerably delayed, and we also feel sick about it.]



Due to the belated decision of the Fair Trade Commission, the statute of limitations on the case is only five days, and the prosecution has to hand over the relevant persons to trial by this time. .



So far, 4,417 people have been recognized as victims of humidifier disinfectants.



(Video coverage: Kim Min-cheol, Video editing: Jeon Min-gyu)