#humidifier_sterilizer #toxicity #lawsuit

SEOUL. April 21 (Yonhap) — A group of people victimized by toxic humidifier sterilizers plan to bring a class-action lawsuit against the products’ manufacturers and distributors to seek unspecified damages, an environment civic group said Thursday.

The Seoul-based Asian Citizen’s Center for Environment and Health said it will convene a meeting of the victims and their families on Sunday to discuss the planned lawsuit and form a group of litigants for the lawsuit.

The lawsuit will be filed by the victims who have yet to sue individually to seek compensation. The companies targeted are British firm Oxy Reckitt Benckiser, Lotte Mart and other domestic and overseas companies involved in the manufacturing and distribution of the products in question.

“We will discuss the amount of the damages with them if (the class-action lawsuit) is formalized at the meeting,” said Lim Heung-kyu, an official at the center. “We will try to make the group of litigants as large as we can.”

The humidifiers disinfectant case, one of the worst scandals involving consumer products using chemicals, came to light after four pregnant women died of lung problems for unknown reasons in a row in 2011.

The authorities have said there is a connection between the deaths of more than a hundred people who died from lung failure and the germicides they used in sterilizing household humidifiers.

The prosecution alleged that the two chemicals used in the products — PHMG Phosphate or PGH, were responsible for severe illnesses and deaths. Two other chemicals used were PHMG hydrochloride and MIT/CMIT, which the prosecution found not as harmful as the other two.

A tally compiled by the civic group said the number of victims, including 228 dead people, from the humidifier sterilizers has stood at 1,528.

Family members of people victimized by toxic humidifier sterilizers and civic group members attend a press conference at a Seoul hotel on April 18, 2016, that Lotte Mart, a major retail giant in South Korea, held to apologize to its customers. The retailer promised compensation for any damage that its humidifier sterilizer might have caused.

On Monday, Lotte Mart and Homeplus, major retail giants in South Korea, apologized to their customers, promising compensation for any damage that their humidifier sterilizer might have caused.

Civic and customer rights groups, however, doubted the sincerity in the apologies and compensation promises, claiming that the timing is suspicions in that they came too late and also just before the prosecution’s imminent move to summon their officials.

namsh@yna.co.kr

“Glass ceiling still thick in Korea” (Korea Herald)

Korea has the thickest glass ceiling in the corporate world!

#gender_inequality #glass_ceiling

“Number of elderly people living alone skyrockets more than 1,300%”
‪#‎Korea‬ ‪#‎elderly‬ ‪#‎welfare‬

In S. Korea, more people are living alone, and growth is particularly fast among elderly people

An elderly man carries winter relief supplies he received from the Korea Red Cross up a staircase in Seoul’s Yongsan district.

The number of single-person households composed of people 65 years or older has multiplied 13 times over the past 25 years, a government report says.According to a recent report titled “Changes in Marriage and Childbirth Behavior Resulting from Family Changes and Policy Recommendations,” the number of elderly single-person households increased by 1,320% between 1985 and 2010. The report was written by a group of researchers headed up by Lee Sam-sik from the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA).This growth occurred much more quickly than non-elderly single-person households, which increased by 470%. Elderly households have also come to represent a larger proportion of all single-person households, increasing from 17.4% in 1985 to 32.9% in 2010.The number and percentage of elderly people who were left alone after a divorce or bereavement and are living apart from their children in the city is increasing rapidly, the report found.The researchers based their analysis on the raw data (a 1% sample) from a population and housing survey by Statistics Korea.There was a particularly sharp increase in single-person households consisting of elderly women, which jumped from 24.2% of all single-person households in 1985 to 46.8%. Single-person households consisting of elderly men increased from 5.3% to 14.6%.As of 2010, 31.8% of elderly men living alone had a job, compared to 23.4% of elderly women living alone. The implication is that the rest of these households were depending on their savings, pension or support from their children.“Attention should be paid to the fact that, even among single-person households, the elderly need not only economic support but also assistance with health care,” the report said.There was also a huge jump in single-person households in other age groups between 1985 and 2010, with the number of unmarried men in their 30s and 40s living by themselves increasing by factors of 19.4 and 62.3, respectively. Unmarried women in their 30s and 40s living by themselves increased by a factor of 11.7 and 20.6, respectively. This is presumed to be a consequence of the tendency for South Koreans to marry later in life.Among single-person households consisting of divorcees, the fastest rate of growth outside of the elderly age group was seen in men in their 40s, with their number growing by a factor of 24.5.The number of single-person households in South Korea has been steadily increasing, from 660,000 in 1985 to 4.14 million in 2010. By last year, the number had increased to 5.06 million, according to an estimate by Statistics Korea.By Hwangbo Yon, staff reporterPlease direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

#1. [Press release] Searching for excluded voice of people about MERS

On July 28^th, Park Geun-Hye administration declared ‘de facto end’ to the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Virus (MERS) as there had not been a new infection since 4^th of July. Even though it was not official end not fulfilling the criterion of 28 days without the evidence of new infection, which is twice the incubation period of the virus, the administration asked public to shake off all concerns over MERS and to resume normal daily activities including economic, cultural, leisure and school activities.

Without appropriate apologize for much-criticized response to the outbreak which has infected 186 and killed 36 people in South Korea, the administration tried to cover up the damages people suffered by making a small amount of supplementary budget. Graver thing is that the government is not showing any responsibility to improve fragile national quarantine system and to overcome incapacity of the state to protect their citizen from deadly emerging diseases. Moreover, there are many stories marginalized by the government.

To accuse the irresponsibility and negligence of government, we should gather the voice of people who has suffered from MERS outbreak. There are many resentful voices not expressed. Thus, Health Right Network and People’s Health Institute is collecting direct to indirect damage cases of MERS.

(Article of relevance: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33684981)

#2. [Statement] Pity for the minister appointment as a follow-up measure of MERS outbreak, nominating those who support health care privatization

On responsibility for failing to properly cope with MERS outbreak, Park Administration replaced Minister of Health Moon Hyung-Pyo to Chung Chin-Youb as well as pointing out Saenuri Party lawmaker KimHyun-Sook as senior presidential secretary for employment and welfare replacing Choi Won-Young. These two newly appointed figure had been propelling privatization of health care, which claimed economic growth prior to health and welfare of the people. We rally against Park Administration for ridiculing the people they serve by appointing business-friendly people and derelicting in their duty to look after damages and suffrages of MERS outbreak. We, Health Right Network, thus urge the government to withdraw these appointments which will sacrifice people’s health as a bait for economic growth.

#3. [Remark] There is something more than limiting coverages to those failed to pay health insurance premium. Defaults due to hardships of life should be solved in the other ways.

National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) announced subjects of limitation on insurance coverage to defaulters would be expanded starting from August 1^st, by expanding the penalty to people who have yearly income over 20 million won (around 17,000US dollar ) or possessed the asset more than 300 million won (around 255,000 US dollar). As previous “large defaulter coverage limitation” had been applied to those with yearly income over 100 million won or asset more than 2 billion won, this action will expand the target of coverage limitation from 1,494 to 27,494 households (around 18-fold increase).

The problem of this plan is first, there is not much known about the present situation of defaulters. We cannot find out intentional defaulters only based on the level of income and asset.

Secondly, as government had been approaching premium default cases just for increasing their financial securement, defaulters due to actual hardship of life had not been receiving any appropriate assistance or attention.

Thirdly, with National Health Insurance (NHI) premium imposition system reform, the government decided to impose 16,000 won even to households with less than yearly income of 5 million won. Though the government claimed for improvement to achieve the financial equity in premium collection, there is no effort to support those who cannot pay premium at all. In Korea, the population of medical aid beneficiary is lower than 3% of total population, which is very low compared to other OECD countries. Considering this situation, the government should not just impose single fee for the poor, but prepare some assistance for the low-income population, such as switching the households with low income to beneficiary of medical aid.

Fourth, allowing for the purpose of NHI securing people’s health right and guaranteeing health care access to those whoever sick, we should reconsider the righteousness of limiting the coverage. Reasonably, NHI benefit can be considered as corresponding service to the insurance premium. On the other hand, NHI is an institution pursuing social solidarity and security, partly financed by general budget of the government. Thus, restricting coverage based on the status of premium payment is absolutely not desirable. Raison d’être of NHI is not mandating people to pay premium who do not have the ability to pay, but securing health right of the people.

#1. [Joint statement] National Health Insurance(seq, NHI), Less Benefit More Premium

– The insurance premium of the NHI accounted for about 83% of the finance, which is mostly covered by insurance premium and alloted charge of government, Contribution of the government decreased in 2013. Every year between 2003 and 2013, the premium rate has been increased and the annual rate of increase clocked up 4.1% in average. This number is 2.7 times higher than increase rate of urban household income of 1.5% in average, during the same period. Nonetheless, the cumulative surplus of the NHI amounts to approximately 13 trillion won. The government has been trying to switch tax-financed service to NHI covered service. The government, chip in for financing essential social security by social insurane premium, is nothing less than giving up the duties and responsibilities on people as a result. For this reason, Health Right Network declared the joint statement with other civil groups.

#2. [Dispatch of Joint Open Letter to Ministry of Health and Welfare(seq, MW)] Patients who were forced to transfer or urged to discharge from the National Medical Center(seq, NMC)

– In the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome(seq, MERS) epidemic from last May, MW designated the NMC as ‘MERS center’ for intensive care on MERS patients. Although it is natural for the NMC as a public hospital to perform the role, discharging and transferring the existing inpatients to secure the bed for MERS patients was not proper a speck. First, considering the status of inpatients, which mostly consist of public charges and the low-income, the plan to aid financial burdens is not prepared, so they stand a chance of avoiding subsequent hospitalizations. Secondly, they are also probable to encounter denials of hospitalization and treatment from other hospitals because they are from the NMC in the period of MERS epidemic. The government should keep in mind that it has the duties and responsibilities for securing the right to health via providing proper health care service to people. Hence, Health Right Network and other civil groups dispatched open letter urging to make plan for transferred and discharged patients from the NMC.

#3. Demand Revision of Ordinance providing Obligatory Consignment on University hospital

– Seongnam medical center, which will open in 2017, is the first public hospital forwarded to establish through the ordinance making movement of the residents in South Korea. Allowing for the closing of Jin-ju medical center in Gyeonsangnam-do from the beginning of Park administration, people’s effort to build the medical center reminds us of the importance of public health service. People of Seongnam have stressed the volition to protect their own rights to health through filling a void in public health service of the region and settling health inequity by transparent and sound hospital operation during the ordinance making movement. Despite people’s opposition, Saenuri-dang(ruling-party), however, arbitrarily passed the ordinance providing ‘obligatory consignment on university hospital’ abusing the status of majority in the provincial assembly in last 2011. the members of city council are not supposed to forget that the origin of the medical center as a public hospital is situated at people’s participation. Hereat, Health Right Network demands the revision of the ordinance providing ‘obligatory consignment on university hospital’, expecting the expansion of public health care center like the Seongnam medical center supplementing vulnerable regional public health service.

1. Claim for official inspections of the Board of Audit and Inspection(seq, BAI) on drug coverage assessment

On last December, one staff of Pfizer Korea attempted to lobby members of drug coverage assessment committee in the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service(seq, HIRA) for the registration of Xalcori^Ⓡ capsule in the drug list. Civil organizations including Health Right Network demanded that the HIRA  punish the pharmaceutical firm for the issue and make alternative plans for reinforcing transparency of the  committees, but there wer no response for more than 3 months. However,  Health Right Network and other related groups claimed the inspection of the BAI on the HIRA due to their nonfeasance till lately.

2. Statement opposing the Medicaid fee notification service 

On March 24th, Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that government will launch Medicaid fee notification service of total fee, disease names, and more informations to Medicaid beneficiaries by post, taking effect from next July. This will reproduce the discrimination and stigmas of Medicaid beneficiaries. We claim that the Korean government has been committing immoral acts like this policy to curtail welfare finance through invading health right and other human rights. Health Right Network desperately opposes sthe Park Administration’s human rights ignoring actions.

3. Press conference denouncing welfare finance efficiency plan and five related politicians

On April 1st, Government announced ‘Welfare Finance Efficiency Plan’ under the cloak of preventing welfare finance leakage, eradicating unlawful benefits, curtailing finance, which is actually based upon violating fundamental rights of the vulnerable in the blind spot of welfare system. Health Right Network and other related groups proclaimed five politicians of the ruling party and censured their activities to downsize and collapse the social safety net in the press conference.

4. Civil Accusation Project Orientation on Commercialization of Health Care(2nd phase)

The members of Civil Accusation Project met together with the slogan of “Life than Profit”. College students accusing commercialization of health care got an orientation on May 9.  Anticipate their brilliant activities!

http://www.konkang21.or.kr/korean/

Health Right Network (HRN), a civic movement organization of citizen and patients, was founded in 2003 April, aiming for realization of health right in Korea. HRN have opposed to privatization of health care, asserting for broader coverage in social health insurance and diminishing user-fees. To guarantee dignity of patients and civic participation, we are preceding ‘patient right movement’ and ‘civic participation movement’. Also, in order to sustain health care accessibility in context of economic recession, we are arranging pro-poor health right campaign such as caring for social health insurance defaulter & those who lack access to health care due to economic constraint, and making healthier community for dosshouse residents.