The Silent Killer of South Korea That Murdered 1500 Young People

Barabing, baraboom. In a South Korean. emergency room, this is May of 2009. There was the Lee family that were. anxiously waiting for help. You know, it. just seemed like the parents, so it's. Mr. and Mrs. Lee, they're new parents, maybe about 20-something years old, and. they have their 3-month-old baby, their. 3-month-old infant. And like these. parents, they're dark circles under. their eyes, they look like they're being. pulled down by gravity itself. They look. They look beat. Their eyes are frantic.

I mean, it looks like they had been. fueling themselves with just adrenaline. alone. And you know, the hospital, they get a. lot of these parents in. They get all. these parents that are new, and they're. scared, and they're like, "My kid is. coughing. I don't know what to do. I. feel like my kid is in trouble. Can you. please help?" And usually it's nothing, right? Usually. This case wasn't that. 3-month-old Baby Lee was perfectly. healthy the day of his birth. He went to. all of his checkups, perfectly healthy, until just about a week ago.

According to the parents, he started. having these little hiccups. He would hiccup, and at first it was. cute. They're like, "Oh my god, he knows. how to hiccup." And then slowly these. hiccups would morph into these coughing. fits. He would wake himself up in pain from. his little naps and just coughing up a. storm. They were so worried. I mean, the way. that he was screaming was ear-piercing. Something was clearly wrong. Nurses checked his heart rate. They took. scans. They put him on an IV. Meanwhile,

there were multiple doctors crowding in. a room. So, this is like a office room. The parents aren't there, the patients. aren't there, and one by one another. doctor would come in, and they'd be. like, "Hey, look at these scans." They. would stare at the scan, hands on their. hips, and then another doctor would. come, and nobody could put their finger. on it. They had no idea what was going. on. The baby's lungs were basically gone. Yeah, not all the way gone, but. something really really strange and.

bizarre was happening. His lung tissues. were turning solid, hard as a rock, which means that Okay, think about it. Your lungs have to expand to take in. air, and if they turn into stone, it. won't expand, and you can't take in air. Imagine the feeling of wearing a corset. made out of stone two sizes too small. It's like the feeling that even if you. try with all of your might to take in. some air and lift your chest and expand. it, you're not getting oxygen. It's that feeling, but probably.

amplified to the 100th degree. Doctors have no idea what to do. They had never seen anything like this. They don't know how to help Baby Lee. Ultimately, Baby Lee passed May 5th of 2009 on. Children's Day. He was less than 100 days old. And nobody knew why he had passed, what. had happened. Did someone do something? Was it potentially foul play? What was. going on? What could have possibly. happened in the past 3 months?

Just 4 days later, the Lee couple are. back at the hospital. This time Mr. Lee. is screaming, "She's not breathing! She's not breathing! You have to help. her! Do something! Do something! Someone. hurry!". He said that he found his wife passed. out on the bathroom floor. So, the hospital takes her in, and. again, those very same doctors are. huddled in the room, and they're staring. at her scans, and it doesn't make sense. Her lung tissues were completely white, meaning that her lungs were solidifying.

When they walked into her patient room, where she's laying on the hospital bed, it looked like a ghost was sitting on. her chest and manually choking her. And. she couldn't take in air. No matter what they did, she couldn't. get oxygen into her lungs. Every single person in that room was so. concerned about her, except for herself. She didn't care. She wasn't concerned about saving her. life. She just kept trying to grab at. the doctors' hands, and she was half. asking, half begging them,

"Do I have some sort of disease? And did I give it to my baby? Did I kill. my baby? Tell me right now, did I kill my baby?". And the doctors, they could only attempt. to comfort her, you know, but they they. have no idea what was going on to her. baby, but also to her. Mrs. Lee refused all treatment. She. believed that she had been the reason. her son had died. She had caught. something, transmitted it to her. precious little boy, and she wanted to. face the consequences. She wanted to be. with her son.

1 month later, she would pass away, too. And only Mr. Lee was left. In the matter of a month, his whole. family was gone. They had been wiped out. by some mysterious illness that the. doctors could not even pinpoint. And so, by himself, he goes back to his empty. home. He slumps down the wall, and he. just puts his head in his hands, and he. starts sobbing until his body is. exhausted.

Someone had killed his son and wife, and. he was sure of it. Both of them were healthy, and in the. matter of the past month, both of them. had now been buried. He was going to find out whoever did. this, and they were going to pay.

As always, full show notes are available. at rottenmangopodcast.com. This case is absolutely crazy. There is. no other way to describe it. The death. toll is probably in the thousands, but. we can't even really be sure how many. people have been impacted. Now, this. case did take place in South Korea, so. we had our wonderful Korean researchers. help us with this case. And I do want to.

give a quick side note. Some of the. names in today's case are not real. Those families have requested anonymity. All of the perpetrator names are real. Most of the victims' names are real, and. a few of the family members have been. very, very public and very vocal about. what happened to them. So, with that being said, let's get into. it. Dr. Hong was a doctor in a busy part. of South Korea. He's finishing up his. rounds at the hospital. He's on edge. He's agitated. Like something is very.

much bothering this man, and he can't. seem to shake it. Even the nurses, they're staying out of his way. I mean, to put it very lightly, the guy is in a. salty, sour mood. And with each door. that opens and each patient that he sees. and that he talks to, the sweat beads on. his forehead, they're just multiplying. and drenching his whole face. And he's. thinking to himself, "It's happening again. The same thing. happened last year, and it is back." He. doesn't even know what it was or what it.

is or who it was. It was more of a. feeling than a scientific medical. observation, but it was back, and it was. killing people. Random kids, infants, newborns, toddlers, specifically pregnant women. would all come in with similar symptoms, and ultimately, by the time that they. walked in through those hospital doors, they were dying. They were dying, and. there was nothing that Dr. Hong could do. to help them. He would turn on the news. after every shift, and he's like, "I. think that I'm losing my mind. I think.

I'm going crazy by myself because I see. the same symptoms. I see the same thing. over and over again, and nobody is. talking about it. There's not a single. news source talking about some sort of. mystery illness or a new pandemic or. epidemic. Nothing.". And he doesn't know what happened. He. has no idea what's happening, but it's. the most curious thing. It's not even. like people are coming in with heart. attacks, or people are coming in with. colon cancer. These are things that. maybe, big picture-wise, there's some. sort of trend that's happening amongst. the human population. But with this,

young, healthy newborn babies are coming. in, and their lungs look like they had. been mining. Like miners' lungs for the past 100. years, and they had only been alive for. 3 months. It looked like they were sitting in the. the chimney of a factory and just. breathing in that air. And he's like, "I'm going crazy. This. doesn't even make any sense, and nobody. is talking about it, and it's been. happening year after year, always around. the spring season.".

How many years? For the past like 2 to 3. years. And every year it gets worse and worse. and worse. And he's like, "Am I losing. my mind?" I mean, of course, when the. first few kids came in, he thought, "Maybe Maybe, because of how bizarre it. is, maybe the parents are doing. something. Maybe it's like Munchausen by. proxy, right? Maybe they want attention, and they're making their kids sick. deliberately to get some sort of to get. some sort of emotional fulfillment." But. that doesn't make sense. The numbers. were outrageous here. Then he thought,

"Okay, maybe there's someone poisoning. baby food." Cuz they're all infants, and. the moms are maybe eating the baby food. They're taking little bites to test out. the warmth and to to make sure it's. good. Maybe that's what's going on. But that. doesn't make sense, either, because that. again would be on the news. Was it just. his hospital? Was maybe the water supply. in this immediate area. there it was being poisoned, the water. supply. He could try his best to. investigate, but I mean, he was way in. over his head. Trying to find the. connection between these victims was. rough. Like, how can you even find the.

connection? These aren't people that. went to the same school or anything. Would people even remember every little. thing that they bought at the store or. ate recently? Like, how do you even deem. something significant enough to tell the. doctors? Most things fly under the. radar. So, before he can put on a Sherlock. Holmes hat, another patient walks in. through the door. So, Helen was pregnant, and she's a. first-time mom. She was so excited, okay? The I the couple did everything. early. They were early in their prep.

They set up the nursery. They prepared. for birth, focusing on anything and. everything that has to do with health. She was about 8 months pregnant, a month. away from giving birth, when her doctor. is looking, literally belly out, ultrasound, and she just freezes. I just. the baby's organs look. look white. Which the only things that should look. white are your bones, cuz the density.

It looked as if the baby's lungs were. solid, like a rock. And so, she tells the mom, I I mean, I. don't think that anyone will be able to. save your baby, even if you follow. through with the pregnancy. I think that the only reason that your. baby is alive right now is because they. don't need to use their own lungs, because they're inside the uterus. But when that baby is born, there is no. chance of lung functionality outside the. womb. None. The child ended up passing away shortly.

after being born. Which like, if you. know anyone who's experienced this, I. had a family member who went through. this, but it is like the most traumatic. thing ever, to hold your baby in your. arms, knowing that they might not make. it, or to even just really walk out of. that hospital without your child. But. there is so much evidence that you're. supposed to have this baby. Like, you. have a home with the nursery, and even. your own body shows evidence of you need. to come home with the baby. It is the. equivalent of putting your heart through. a shredder.

So, shortly after this, Soyeon realized. she's pregnant again. And she and her husband, they don't even. know how to feel. Like yeah, they're. excited, but they're so terrified. I. mean, even the first time they were. pregnant, they were so paranoid. They. were making sure that everything she was. eating was organic and perfectly safe. for the baby. Even candles they were. lighting, perfume that she was wearing. They did everything to the T. And this is a high-risk pregnancy she. feels like. I mean, I can only imagine. how on edge the couple are feeling about. every tiny little thing. Soyeon felt.

like she had done something wrong the. first time. Like it was her fault. She wondered if she ate healthier, ate. better, took more supplements, did. everything that the doctors and all. these random ajummas, these old ladies. tell her to do. If she did everything, maybe this time her child would be fine. Her child was not fine. The same thing happened again. As soon. as the baby's lungs were developed, the. OBGYN told Soyeon that her baby's lungs. would not be functional outside of the. womb. The This baby wouldn't make it.

either. So, this time Soyeon is like, okay, it's. 100% my fault. Side note, it's not, but. she's thinking, it's got to be me. I. mean, there's no other reason. There's. something in my genetics. There's. something in my body that I am not fit. enough to make another human being. I am. not a good mom. I can't be a parent.

But these doctors, they didn't think. that. They felt like something was out there. targeting South Korean families. So, Dr. Hong, he doesn't know what to. do. He doesn't know who or what is doing. this. So, he does the only thing that he. can think of doing, and he's kind of. like a madman, right? Dr. Hong compiles a list of every single. email, every single person that he. graduated medical school with, every. colleague that he had ever briefly. nodded in the hospital halls with. He.

went online and looked up a list of. random doctors from random hospitals. It. didn't even matter what field they were. in. It could have been dermatologists, plastic surgeons. As long as they had. MD, he was going to find their email and. email them. He starts mass emailing. about a new silent killer. He didn't. know what or who it was, but whatever it. is, it's turning baby's lungs into. stone. What did he say though? He's like, I. need help. I think I'm losing my mind. I. don't know what's going on. Please tell.

me, is this just me? Is there something. in our local water supply that's. poisoning these people? But that's. weird, because I'm not getting a bunch. of healthy young people coming in. I'm. literally getting infants, babies, young moms, and maybe some elderly. people. But like, how can something It's. not the air, it's not the water. Like, I'm going to go crazy. What When was. this again? This is in like 2011. Wow. Yeah. Then, he slowly starts. getting all these emails back of random. doctors that he's never met before being. like, I actually had a case very.

similar. So, these are some of the stories. Chuno's mom felt like she was feeling a. bit paranoid, you know? She tried to. talk herself out of this decision, but I. mean, it's 2:00 a.m. She just wants to. get some peace of mind. Half out of. anxiety and half out of South Korea's. emphasis on manners and politeness, she's smiling at the emergency room. doctor. Like, I'm sure it's nothing. I'm. probably overreacting, but I'm a new. mom. Um anyway, my son Chuno caught a. cold maybe 2 weeks ago. I thought it was.

getting better. I've been trying to do. everything at home, and I feel like it's. getting worse. I think that he just. needs some medicine or some sort of. checkup. Last night, it felt like his breathing. was shallow, and. you know, the first night when he caught. the cold, he was. bloody scream crying, like just oh. bloody murder, right? Now, I it seems almost like he's too. exhausted to even cry. And I guess that was worrying me. We did keep his room warm. We kept his.

room humid. We had the humidifier on. We've been putting him on like a soft. bland food diet. I just don't know. The doctor pulled out his stethoscope, and the mom was right. Breathing was. shallow. Okay, I'm just going to have to do some. CT scans. He comes back with two scans. The first. one he shows Mrs. Lee, and he states, you know, these are what healthy lungs are. supposed to look like. And from the untrained eye, it might be. even hard to spot. They kind of.

disappear into the x-rays. Now, these are what Chuno's lungs look. like. And now, Mrs. Lee has no idea what she's. looking at, but it's not looking good. I. mean, it looks nothing like the healthy. lungs. His lungs are white in color. They look like bone. Within days, baby. Chuno died in the hospital. He was. supposed to have his toejanchi, which is. your 1-year birthday party next month. But now, he was gone. His mom would have to go home, arms. empty, walk into his empty lifeless. room, turn off the sound machine, click.

off the humidifier, turn off the lights, before she slumped to the ground. sobbing. Then that doctor said, "Another patient. walked into the through the hospital. doors." And they sat with the patients. as they explained the scans, and they. said the same thing. "We just thought it. was a". And the doctor said, "A common cold?". "Yes, how did you know? Anyway, we. thought it was a common cold, so we were. treating our baby at home. And, you. know, we kept the room warm. We kept it. humid. We had the humidifier running. We.

made sure to feed him a diet of soft. bland foods. And now, our baby is sick, but also the mother of the child, the. mother of the baby is sick." Both were. admitted into the hospital for intensive. care. The mom would recover, but the. baby wouldn't. And they would constantly blame. themselves. These parents would go home. crying about how they transferred some. sort of unknown virus or bacteria to. their kid, and that is why their kid. died. They blamed themselves for going. out or going to work too early on. These doctors had no idea what to tell.

these parents. So, these doctors are coming back to the. emails one by one sharing their stories. At one point, one doctor was like, "I. had 17 patients that were admitted for. breathing problems. Their x-ray scans. showed the exact same thing. Out of 17. of them, 13 of them were either children. or young pregnant women, and five of. them died within like that day." So, they're like, "Something out here is. killing people, and nobody is talking. about it." So, Dr. Hong is like, "Well,

I'm going to talk about it." He calls up. the Korean Center for Disease Control, the Korean CDC, and he presents them. with all the information that he's. gathered so far. And he's like, "Listen, I'm going to make it easy for you guys. I've already narrowed it down. It's. happening during the spring season, mostly in April. I don't know what's. going on there. It seems like it's. airborne, and it's attacking the lungs, literally turning them into stone. So, you're welcome. Please go find out. what's going on, and let's save these. people." He also reaches out to. bacteriologists to see if there's any. new bacteria or virus in the air. And.

they get back to him, and they say, "Absolutely nothing. No. We have been monitoring, and there is. nothing in the air. So, you say it's. airborne, but we are testing in common. public areas. We're testing in cities, in the little like countryside. We're. testing everywhere, and there is no new. known bacteria. Nothing.". The CDC, they didn't even respond at. all. It would take 2 years for them to start. investigating the deaths. And the deaths. didn't stop during those 2 years.

Essentially, 2 valuable years to stop. whatever was happening was wasted. And. during that time, more kids were dying. And then finally, the news channels got. into it. Dr. Hong reached out to the. media, and by 2011, like the end, the. news starts picking up on the trend of. infants dying. And they reported a lung. disease with no cause nor any treatment. or any cure are targeting groups of. families. The medical field is warning. of possible contagion. Can you imagine a message like that. going out? It's giving the purge. I.

mean, people lost their minds. The. public are like, "What are you saying? There's no cure for a mystery lung. disease, and now we're going to go out, and it's contagious, and you have no. idea even what this virus is?". And so now, the CDC is like, "Okay, maybe we need to get involved so that. you guys can calm down. Everything has. been vague. Let's clear some things up.". The CDC comes out to say, "Don't worry. about it, guys. This doesn't concern us. This doesn't concern you because it's. only attacking pregnant women and young. children. And the whole nation collectively loses.

their mind. They're like, "What are you. talking about? Don't be concerned. because the world's most vulnerable. population are getting attacked, but. like we should be fine?" It only pisses. off everyone else. So, now the CDC, they. finally open an investigation into the. deaths. And the CDC, they start. interviewing each of the family members. of the victims and asking them. questions. They were waiting for like a. aha moment. They would sit there and. they would kind of smirk and they'd say, "Well, do you smoke?". No, we don't. None of No one in the. family smokes. Are you sure? Are you.

sure the husband doesn't smoke, smoke. around the kid? It's okay if they do. You can tell us. No. I mean, absolutely not. So, they thought, "Okay, maybe it's like. some sort of food, a gadget, maybe like. a special dish soap." They were asking. things like, "Where did you go? Who did. you see? What kind of things do you use. on a typical basis? Does anyone else. smoke? Does anyone do any drugs?". What's wild is that most of the families. interviewed, they were actually pretty. concerned about their families' health. cuz these are young families or young. moms with infants and children. They're. like really helicopter momming it. They.

want to get all the organic stuff. They. want to get the best of the best, 100%. cotton clothes for the kids. They were. really intense. And almost every single. family took on a very hands-on approach. So, they all sat there for the CDC. interviews and answered all the. questions. "Do you sanitize your kids' toys when. you drop them on the ground?" Yes, of. course. Absolutely. "And you go to all the required checkups. for your children?" Yes, and we don't. let our family members kiss our. children. We go to the checkups. We. don't let strangers hold our children. We even have humidifiers in our.

children's rooms because the winters get. so dry. We keep it close to the crib and. we make sure that the room is always. warm, that it's well ventilated. "Okay, good. But are you aware that humidifiers. can easily Yes, harbor bacteria? We. clean it regularly with a. government-approved humidifier. sterilizer.". So, the CDC, they check their notes. The area of where the patients came from. differed. The brand of formula that they. bought or the baby food that they bought. differed. There was just one thing that.

kept being written down in their notes. over and over again to the point where. it might as well have been underlined in. red. Can you guess? The humidifier. They all used a. humidifier. And that's not crazy, okay? Almost every. single household in South Korea has a. humidifier. The winters in South Korea. are brutal. Okay, but it's not even just. the winters. We went to Korea in April. and my mom was like, "You better pack. your thickest moisturizer." I have oily. combination skin, and I leaned more.

towards oily. We get to Korea, I had to. bring a separate different moisturizer, a thick one that would normally break me. out at home, but it was so dry if I. didn't do that, you could literally see. my skin flakes dusting off in the day. So, during springtime, most South Korean. families will have humidifiers on to. help with their chapped lips, their dry. skin, and just help fight off like the. colds and stuff that come with dry and. tired nasal pathways, you know? But the mechanisms of a humidifier are. breeding grounds for bacteria. Whenever.

you keep water in a closed container for. a long time, 100% bacteria and mold is going to form. eventually. It's just a matter of when. Humidifiers are completely safe if you. clean and you dry them after every use. But let's be real, like who's cleaning. and drying them after every use? If you. don't do that, bacteria and mold is. going to come out in the steam. You will. essentially be breathing in moist moldy. air, and that can make you super sick, sicker than dry air. But whenever the CDC sat there on their.

little high horse trying to be. smartasses, like, "Oh, did you know that. the humidifier is a breeding ground for. bacteria?". All the parents already knew all of. this. This is not groundbreaking. information in a country where. humidifiers are common. Nobody is. sitting breathing in moldy air. Every. single family looked at the CDC and. stated, "Of course I know this, and in. order to combat this, we bought. government-approved humidifier. sterilizers.". The CDC employees, they look at each. other, and when asked about the brand of. humidifier used, the families all had.

different answers. Some used this brand, others used this brand. But when they all were asked about what. humidifier sterilizer they used, most of them said, "Oh, Seokseok.". Seokseok means like. like brisk brisk. It's like how you. describe something like clean. Like Seokseok dakka, which means like do. it very clean, shiny. That's the brand? Yes, but it's actually owned by the. Korean branch of Oxy. Huge UK brand. I'm sure you know some of.

their products, like Air Wick, the car. fresheners, the air fresheners, Lysol, the disinfecting cleaners. So, it's owned by a UK brand. What. you're saying this is a Korean branch. Mhm. But it's basically Oxy, yeah. Okay. Yeah. So, they sell it in Korea. They don't. really sell it anywhere else because I. don't think that the UK population and. the American population use that many. humidifiers to warrant such a humidifier. sterilizer, but they they sell it in Korea. Now, humidifier sanitizers are not new.

inventions. They're also not solely. available in South Korea. This one was. In the US, you can get humidifier. sterilizers, but it's um it's like a. really intense one. So, basically what. you do is you like put this it's a dish. soap basically, and you dilute it in a. bunch of water, and you have to soak. your humidifier tank in there, and then. you got to dry it completely, and then. you got to like run a fake one, and then. run a new It's like a whole process. It's like a full day clean. It's not a. simple one, right? Well, in South Korea,

they're super advanced because so much. of the population uses humidifiers on a. seasonal basis, they created one where. you don't have to rinse it out. You just. put a bit of this, you drop it into the. water tank of the humidifier, and it. will not only humidify the air in the. room, but it will also purify the air. that's coming out. It will kill the. bacteria in the water. It's a. two-in-one. So, you just. drop a few drops in there? Yeah. That's.

it? That's it. And it was flying off the. shelves because remember how during the. initial lockdowns that we recently. experienced, everyone was buying. disinfectants? Every winter, these. things would be so hard to keep in stock. because people loved it because it's You. don't want moldy humidified air straight. into your face. You also don't want to. go through the process of cleaning it, and it takes all day. The sterilizers. were also advertised as family safe and. had government seals on it indicating. that it passed all the necessary. government safety test. So, that means.

it can't just be some [ __ ] chemical. in a bottle that this company is selling. for profit. It at least has to be safe. enough to use. So, that's what the CDC thought. They're. like, "Okay, I mean, I get it. Everyone's using Seokseok, but it. Come on, it's got a government seal, right?". But the more interviews they do, the. more they kept coming across the same. exact story. "Everything was fine. I left my wife at. home to rest and take care of the baby. I went to work, came home, ate dinner. You know, my wife is not the type to get. into anything outrageous. She doesn't.

hang out with dangerous people. She. doesn't even go out to areas where she. can catch an infection. Since we have a. newborn baby, we're very cautious. She. stays at home. Baby has his own crib. We even have a. humidifier that we always keep on for. our son.". "And then you noticed that your son. started to feel ill." Yeah, at first we. thought it was something that we could. do with home remedies. So, we put him on. a bland diet, brought the humidifier. closer to his crib so it was facing the. crib, and we thought maybe his airways. were so dry because of how cold it's. been. Mhm. Yeah, so when they cough,

they think they need more hu-. They need the humidifier closer to the. baby or to whoever is sick because I do. that, too. that's what they say. When you when you. get dry and cough, Yes, you stick the. humidifier like literally to the point. where my face would have moisture. droplets on it because I just wanted. that close to me cuz I'm like, "This is. probably going to help, right?". And then slowly it gets to It's not even. slowly. Within the span of the week, that baby is in the ER, and the CT scans.

show that the lungs are completely. solidified, and there is nothing to do. to help this child. Oh my god, I can't even imagine when the. parents found out. Oh. Oh, it's bad. Like Yeah. Oh my gosh. yeah. We're going to get to that. So, the CDC, they investigate what the hell. is going on with these humidifiers and. the humidifier sterilizers. I mean, clearly that is the key to all of this. It is the one consistent thing that. everyone is doing, and it was taking so. long to identify because again, in.

Korea, using a humidifier is as common. as taking a shower. It's that common. It's not something. that someone will go, "Oh, you know. what? Actually, on second thought, I did. use a humidifier this week.". And I'm sure you guys are picking what. I'm throwing down, but again, this is. 2011, and even now I feel like I still. kind of fall for this whole, "What? No, it should be safe. It's made by this. huge massive company. There's no way. that they would risk a lawsuit by. knowingly selling something that's. dangerous for human consumption. That's.

crazy.". And every day we are shocked by the. newest updates. We can't use certain. floss anymore because they have. poisonous forever chemicals that we're. just shoving deep into our sensitive. gums and letting straight into our. bloodstream. We can't use certain. candles anymore that are super. fragranced because apparently the super. fragranced ones are just poisonous. chemicals that make it smell like roses. We can't use certain eye drops anymore. because I don't know, they'll make you. go blind cuz they have some sort of. bacteria in them. We can't even drink. overpriced bottled water because it has.

microplastics that we're collecting. credit I feel like every time you turn. on the news, there is something new, and. you're like, "Oh, okay." But back then. in 2011, there was way less of that. skepticism. It was up to the companies. and the governments to make Make that. their products were safe for consumers, and we're not chemists, you know? So, you can see where this is going. The. humidifier sterilizer that had a. government stamp of approval, if you. will, on it effectively created gas. chambers for young families and killed.

over a thousand people. The cleaner inside the bottle that was. supposed to be used inside of the. humidifier that was just pumping out. misty fog into the tight enclosed spaces. of family homes, it was like snorting.

Imagine you got a glass of industrial. strength rug cleaner and you snorted it. god. You didn't even drink it, you snorted. it. you're saying like. by putting a couple drops in there. Yeah. you're basically snorting. the Oh, like in industrial solutions. Yes, um but I don't even want to say. basic Yeah, basically, because guess. what that cleaner was. What is it? Industrial rug cleaner. Wow, like why?

So, what happened? Let's talk about the. chemical. It's called PHMG. That's the chemical in the sterilizer. Decades ago, in the '90s, a company. called Yugong in South Korea released a. disinfectant liquid sterilizer into the. market. Yugong is a chemical supplier, so they're not releasing this new. sterilizer into the public market. They're not selling at grocery stores or. anything like that. It's going to be. sold to other companies. So, usually. other cleaning companies or industrial. businesses, which would then use these. chemicals in their own products or.

potentially sell them again. Now, at. this point, the chemical that they. created was called PHMG and they had. done no government reviews or safety. tests yet. So, there was no government. labels of safety on there. And Yugong. just wanted to sell it to other. companies in bulk wholesale. That's where OxyRB comes in. Oxy, yes, the one I think they're just known as RB. Group now, the Reckitt Benckiser Group. It's like a mega corporation that you. literally cannot even go into a grocery. store or Target without seeing their.

products. They dominate every shelf of. every cleaning supplies aisle. They also. have like a pharmaceuticals branch. I. mean, it's crazy. They own Air Wick, Durex, Lysol, Mucinex. Side note, I. believe RB Group is actually one of the. manufacturers that are paying massive. settlements for the opioid crisis in the. US. Recently, the RB Group was fined. like $1.4 billion in the US to settle. all civil and criminal probes over their. marketing of opioids. Yeah, so.

So, I mean, I feel like that should tell. you enough about this company. Um. It's really hard not to buy their. products though, because they do. dominate in the market. But anyway, RB. Group goes to Yugong and is like, "Hey, I want to purchase a boatload of this. chemical PHMG." And they state that. they're going to use it for industrial. cleaning products to clean rugs. So, like not even at home. This is not. something you can buy as a consumer. You're like, "Oh my god, my dog peed on. my rug. Let me go buy a rug cleaner.". No, you're probably getting a bottle of. Folex. This is like when you take your.

rug to a certified professional rug. cleaner and they've got these crazy. machines, crazy safety equipment and. they've got some industrial strength. cleaners that you can never get at home. and they're going to charge you an arm. and a leg. That's the level of cleaning. I'm talking about. So, they know exactly. what they're buying. Yeah, they're like. what this is for. Yeah. Okay. So, I mean, this is crazy, right? It's not for little old Stephanie who. found out recently that you can't mix.

bleach and vinegar. Okay, not like. recently, but still alarmingly late. It. creates toxic gas fumes and you could. die. So, they specifically stated. Wait, Oh, you just found out? Yeah, yeah. Oh, really? Yeah, but we don't keep bleach in the. house, maybe that's why. Oh, yeah. Wow. Yeah, exactly. So, they specifically. stated to Yugong, "Yeah, we're going to. be using it as an industrial strength. rug cleaner." Which, you know, I highly. doubt that Yugong really cared as long. as they're making a profit off of this.

Now, this deal opens up a ton of doors. for Yugong. They have this massive. company, as big as Oxy, a global mega. corp for cleaning supplies and even. pharmaceuticals that are buying from. Yugong, they've got the street credit. now. This is putting them on the map and. giving them the credibility that they. need. If RB Group was purchasing from. them The these companies I'm getting. really confused. Yugong is the Korean company that made. the chemical and Oxy, now known as RB. Group. Okay, so Oxy. Okay. Oxy, okay. And if this company, as big.

as Oxy, a global mega corp for cleaning. supplies and even pharmaceuticals are. purchasing from this South Korean. chemical company called Yugong. that's putting them on the map. That's. putting Yugong on the map. There it's. giving them the street cred that they. need, the credibility, everything. They're now selling a bunch of products. to a bunch of people. So, a Korean company created this. cleaning solution. Yes. For rugs. Yes. And this medical. they never stated for rugs. What did. they create it for?

An industrial cleaning solution. Oh, for. like heavy duty cleaning purpose. And. this medical company, big big big big. medical company Well, they also own. cleaning, like they own the cleaning. sector, too. corporation reached out and said, "I. want to buy these chemicals from you, from Korea." Yes. And now that's the contract is so big, it's putting this Korean company on the. map, is what you're saying. And now a. lot of these Korean companies that sell.

household items or industrial items, they're like, "Oh, we want to buy from. you, the chemical supplier that they. just bought from.". Okay. Okay. they do not sell anything in stores. They are wholesale chemical company. They don't even really sell cleaning. products. They don't even sell like. industrial cleaning products. They just. straight up sell chemicals. And they're. like, "These chemicals clean shit.". And then these other companies will be. like, "Let me buy that and mix it with. this and then I'm going to sell this as.

a cleaner.". Okay. Okay, got it. Yes. Okay, understood. Yes. Yes. So, basically, that's what's. happening, right? And two years after. the initial order from Oxy, Yugong. submits this chemical, PHMG, to the. Ministry of Environment in the. Department of South Korea for approval. They're like, "Hey, we created this. chemical and now we just want to get it. certified so that we can sell it to more. suppliers.". Okay. "Okay, sounds good. What are you using. it for?" "Oh, it's going to be like an.

industrial rug cleaner." Cuz that's what. Oxy said they're using it for. So, they're like, "Okay, Oxy must know. something. That's what they're using it. for." The government runs their tests. and they come back with a shiny new. non-toxic sticker. These non-toxic. stickers are very misleading, because. non-toxic does not really mean. non-toxic, okay? The government only. tests for the intended purpose of the. product, which makes sense. So, when. they're told it's going to be used as an. industrial strength rug cleaner, the. government tests to make sure that if by. accident, even with the proper cleaning.

gear, like gloves, cuz it's an. industrial strength cleaner, if they get. a little bit splash, a little bit on. their skin, are they going to have a. chemical burn and lose a limb? No? Okay, non-toxic. They do not test per se for consumption. or inhalation of the product, because if. you're out here drinking industrial. strength rug cleaner from a rug cleaner. bottle on purpose, that's not really the. government's problem or the company's. problem, that's a personal problem.

So, Yugong, they get this approved with. a non-toxic seal for this specific. chemical for a rug cleaner. But the seal. does not say that. The seal does not say. non-toxic as a rug cleaner. It just says. non-toxic certified by the South Korean. government. They turn around and give. this seal to Oxy. So, you're you would. say that it's the Korean company that. messed up. Like they know what they're. doing. No. Oh, they. Cuz Oxy is using it as an industrial. strength rug cleaner. So, they're like, "Hey, you know that rug cleaning.

solution that you bought from us or the. chemical part of it? Here. It just got. certified non-toxic, so do whatever you. want with it. Here's the seal.". So again, Oxy said, "I'm using this as a. rug cleaner." Yeah, yeah, yeah. Three years after they get this. non-toxic seal, Oxy comes out with a new. product in South Korea, literally only. in the South Korean market, a humidifier. sterilizer. This company pumps out products like. their livelihoods depend on it and I. mean, I guess it does. So, I don't think. at first anyone assumed that the.

industrial rug cleaner and the. humidifier sterilizer were related in. any way, because this company has. opioids, they have pharmaceuticals, they've got Lysol, they've got car. fresheners, they make everything. Yeah. Oxy sent out their new humidifier. sterilizer for a few tests. One from a. lab in the US and one from a lab in the. UK. But the humidifier sterilizer hit the. shelves before the tests even came back. So, people are like, "Why would that. happen?" Because you need to run tests. before you sell it to the consumer. Yeah. Oxy was like, "Well, we already.

have a government approved non-toxic. label. So, those tests, we just thought. it was like confirmation of what we. already know. But because we already know what we. know, we don't need to know more.". That's That sounds crazy, but that's. almost literally their roundabout. explanation. But eventually, it seems that both Oxy. and Yugong eventually find out what's. going on. So, we know that Oxy put this. industrial strength rug cleaner, PHMG, diluted it, probably added a few other.

ingredients and put it into a humidifier. sterilizer bottle, slapped the. government approved non-toxic sticker on. the bottles and allegedly. paid for a lot of advertising. Did you guys know. when there is a new like when articles. are made about a fear of something going. on, a lot of those can be paid for. And. I'm not saying that Oxy does this, but a. lot of companies do this. So for. example, Oxy, this is hypothetical.

Again, I'm not saying that Oxy did this. I'm saying companies sometimes do this. That company will pay for a bunch of. different journalists, bunch of. different writers to write about how. dangerous mold is in humidifiers. The. silent killer, how there's mold. everywhere, the one thing you didn't. know about your humidifier, the one. thing that keeps you sick when you use. your humidifier. And now everyone's. reading these articles thinking, "Wow, this journalist is doing us a favor and.

talking about the mold." And now I'm. like, "Oh my god, this is like at the. forefront of my mind. There's mold in my. humidifier." And then what do you know, a month later, there's a new product on. the shelves. It's Oxy's humidifier. sterilizer. And in our minds, we don't connect the. two. We think, "Oh, that was just a nice. journalist that was warning us." And you. know what? Maybe this company read that. article and was like, "We need to create. something for the public." But no, it. was all manufactured. It was literally. they had this product, they wanted to. create a demand even if it was a fake.

manipulated demand for this product. Again, I'm not saying that Oxy did that, but these things do happen. Like you'd. be surprised. It's kind of crazy. They called it safe for families. Oxy called this humidifier sterilizer. Like imagine the thought process in. these evil people's minds. So there's no like when when this hit. the shelf, there's no regulations. There's no FDA. approved. There's nothing. It's just on.

the shelf it goes. Because they already have the non-toxic. seal from the government. Uh okay. Yeah. Wow. So it's like saying um. Yeah, I know. I I mean I I I can see it. play out, but at the same time I'm like, "Really? Just just like that? Like". Yeah. Just like that? Yeah, um the. government will later change their laws. and they have gotten really much more. strict about it. But I guess their. excuse was. we. This is such a bad excuse. The. government just pushes it onto different.

departments. Like the drug and safety. department is like, "No, no, no. We. literally look at our job description. We only test for disinfectants of. household surfaces. Disinfect like I'm. talking Clorox wipes. This humidifier. sterilizer is supposed to be the. Ministry of Environment.". And the Ministry of Environment is like, "What are you talking about? We're. making sure that the environment doesn't. die. Why are we in the grocery stores. looking at humidifier sterilizers?". They made a killing in South Korea, a. country where most of the population.

uses humidifiers. Now, we can argue. ignorance because that's what these. massive companies will later try to do. Like, "Oh my god, I didn't know. But. don't sue me." In my personal opinion, I. feel like they knew. In 2003, Yugong's. sold PHMG to another huge Australian. company. They They sold the chemical. So they. have to export this chemical from South. Korea to Australia. And Australia has. very specific laws about um importing. chemicals. So they had to mention that. this chemical may potentially be.

hazardous upon inhalation. So they knew that PHMG is not good for. inhalation. The Australian companies, they take note of that and used PHMG in. regular non-vaporous cleaning solutions. Non-vaporous, so not even like spray. bottles. Mhm. Cuz that could be very. easy to inhale, right? Mhm. We have no. idea if Yugong told Oxy about this. inhalation danger or not. Yugong says, "We only said that it's dangerous upon. inhalation because. I don't know. We were just suspicious.

We didn't have proof that it was. hazardous. We just like said something. I don't know. We just said what we said. I don't know why we said that.". Yeah. What? Yeah, exactly. They stated that they. were operating on a hunch. And from there, now we have two. potential possibilities. Either they. told Oxy or they didn't tell Oxy. If. they didn't, they are arguing that they. have no legal responsibility to tell. them because they are not operating on. proof. And since Oxy told them that they. are buying this to make rug cleaners,

they don't really need to tell them it's. dangerous upon inhalation. It's up to Oxy to make sure that the. consumers are not dying from this. product. Now, Oxy is stating that they were never. told and they just got that non-toxic. seal, so they just assumed that it was. non-toxic. Bro, this is like ridiculous. This is. almost like. like you know, two kids messed up and. then they're like, "No, but he said it's. okay. He said it's all right." Like. There's like are you are you seriously. going by Look Like.

They said it's good to do that, so I did. it. I just imagine like those political. cartoons, you know what I'm talking. about? And it's just two guys in suits. that have every orifice stuffed with. cash and they're like, "I didn't know it. was bad for people.". Wait, what? No one told me that. No one told me I couldn't do that. Like. it's like. You run a mega corporation. You're. telling me you're that dumb? I feel like. then I should run your mega corporation. I'm smarter than you then.

It doesn't make sense. So Yugong is. arguing that it's Oxy's responsibility. to run new tests if you're going to use. it in something that's not an industrial. rug cleaner. And Oxy is saying, "You. didn't tell us that it could be. dangerous upon inhalation. Otherwise, we. wouldn't have created this product.". So they're just throwing the blame on. each other. Which side note, a lot of. people, myself included, think that. these big big companies like this would. never put people at risk, right? Because. they're putting themselves at risk for a.

massive class action lawsuit, right? Yeah. Sometimes the sales of a certain. product before the lawsuit outweigh any. legal fees that they would have to pay. later. And I'm not saying that Oxy did. that, but a lot of companies are under. scrutiny for doing this with the opioid. crisis, which is saying that, "Hey, we're going to just do these crazy. things that we might get in trouble for, but we're about to make billions upon. billions of dollars. So what if I like. one or two billion we got to pay in. fines later? That's part of the bottom. line. We're going to factor that into. our costs.".

It's just part of government operating. costs, they say. Or people do that with. the climate laws. These big big companies, they have to do. a certain thing to like be within their. climate laws, otherwise they get fined. by the government. That government fine. is just part of their operating costs. now. It does not prevent them from doing. the crazy [ __ ] that they're doing. So Oxy and Yugong, they were too busy. watching the stock market and their. bottom line to watch what was going on. in the hospitals. They did not know.

people were getting sick and dying from. a new mysterious lung disease. By the. time that this hit the news, it was too. late. Oxy and Yugong started scrambling. to shuffle their cards and hide their. dirty laundry. Allegedly, according to. both companies' lawyers, both Oxy and. Yugong had no idea that their product. was causing this mysterious lung disease. in South Korea. But they do some very interesting things. for companies who have no idea that. they're about to get hit with a boatload. of lawsuits. So December of 2011, Oxy.

hires two professors to run tests on. their humidifier sterilizer. Wait, wait. December 2011? Yes. This is before. people found out or this is after people. found out it was from the humidifier? Before. Oh, so before they already caught the. Okay. People are like, "Hey, people are dying. from something mysterious going on." And. they're like, "Let's just run some tests.". Out of nowhere on those products. So they hired two professors and they're. doing some test. These professors write.

that there was no connection between the. Oxy product and the symptoms and deaths. of the victims. Good stuff, right? Yeah, no. The. professors will literally be jailed. later for taking big bribes from Oxy. Big bribes. Oxy also made a very generous donation. to the university that the professors. worked at. Wow. Cool. Okay, not suspicious at all. And then Oxy goes to randomly and. coincidentally change their company from.

a publicly traded company to a limited. publicly traded company, which is a. legal change in classification. The main. difference that is pertinent to this. case is when you're a limited company, the owners and stockholders are. individually legally responsible and. liable for the company only up to the. amount that they invested into the. company. It basically limits the extent in which. a person or singular person can be found. legally responsible for anything inside. the company.

Mhm. So this is all happening randomly. and coincidentally. And then eventually, the CDC went after. Oxy. They made the connection by talking. to all the victims who said that they. bought Oxy Seksak humidifier sterilizer. and used it before getting sick. There. was a recall on all of Oxy Seksak. sterilizers and a bunch of other small. brands who saw Oxy was killing it in. this market, they read the ingredients. and they just thought, "Okay, Oxy is a. mega corp. They probably did all of the. investigations and studyings into this.

chemicals and made sure that it was. safe. And they have a non-toxic seal. So. we're going to recreate the same exact. product, maybe sell it for cheaper. because we don't have a brand name. attached to us. If Oxy's doing it, it must be safe.". Basically, all the humidifier. sterilizers are being recalled and. customers were recommended to throw away. any products they had immediately. All. of it. Throw it away. For the public and really the victims. and the family members, I mean, when. this connection was made, it was like a. gut punch.

A lot of parents, they blamed. themselves. They felt that they were. doing their best for their families. They used a humidifier. They went the. extra mile not even to use a humidifier, but to make sure that there was no. bacteria being formed inside of that. humidifier. And in the end, because they were the. ones that bought and used the humidifier. disinfectant, a lot of them blamed. themselves. And I'm sure we don't need a disclaimer, but this is crazy. I mean, none of this. is their fault. The parents, they. couldn't see that.

Some of them said that. I even put the humidifier closer to my. child's crib. because I thought it would help with. their cold symptoms, not knowing that. their cold symptoms were literally them. dying because of this humidifier. disinfectant. They had no idea that they were bringing. the the killer closer and closer to. their own children. Sungjin, the husband who lost his baby. and then his wife, remember at the. beginning of this story? He said, "I bought that humidifier. I'm. the one that put the disinfectant in the.

humidifier.". This situation just feels so unfair. I feel so wronged. Another mom said, "After I found out, I. wanted to die even more. because I was the one that put the. disinfectant in the humidifier. I was. the one that put it closer to my child's. face, and I didn't even think to. research what I was giving to him.". There was a firefighter amongst the. victims' families. He's a single dad who just wanted the. best for his 5-year-old son. He bought a. humidifier because he heard that winters.

get dry, and all these kids had chapped. lips. And then, he read about how mold. is very easy to form in a humidifier, so. he bought a humidifier sterilizer, and. he said it was all his fault. He said, "Who was the one who bought the. disinfectant? Me. As a father and as a first responder who. saves the lives of people in this. country, I sent my own son with my own. hands to his grave.". And he sobbed and said, "How can a. bastard like me that can't even protect.

his own son? How can he protect the. people of this country?". Over a thousand people died.

There were others who were lucky enough. to survive, but their lives had. completely changed since this incident.

A little boy named Sungjun was just 2. years old when he started showing. symptoms. Doctors said that there were. literal chemical burns on his lung. tissues. Since then, his lungs were just. never the same again. He could only. breathe through his nose. Air would come. out of his throat, which meant that he. could still talk, but he couldn't inhale. from his mouth, only his nose. So now, if he gets a cold and mucus blocks his. nasal passageways, his oxygen supply is depleted. He could. literally die from getting a common.

cold. The doctors had to put a breathing. tube at the base of his neck so that he. could get more air into his lungs. That. tube stayed there for 10 years. His voice changed. It became jagged and. bumpy because of his damage. He can't. whisper. He can't exercise or do. anything that requires an elevated. oxygen intake. This means that anytime. friends go running or doing anything. active, he just has to sit at home. He also has to use an. electricity-powered oxygen machine 24/7.

If that machine breaks down, he will be. unable to breathe. One year, there was a blackout in the. area where he lived. His oxygen machine. turned off because of the blackout, and. he literally had to be ambulanced to an. emergency room because he was about to. die. Since then, they had to install a. massive generator in their home. The oxygen machine, it can be portable. if they want, but they have to charge. it, and the battery doesn't last long. So if he's out when the oxygen machine. dies, he has minutes minutes to get.

somewhere before his brain shuts down. from the lack of oxygen. So he has minutes to find electricity, but he can't run. He can't panic. because he has to stay calm because he. needs he can barely get oxygen. So he and his parents, they constantly. live with that fear that a simple jog. back home because his machine is running. out of power or a simple cold could. literally kill him. They said that it broke their heart to.

see their kids sitting at home bored. when all the other kids were living. their lives. And because he spent so much time as a. kid just laying down instead of up and. running around because of how weak he. was, his bones are so brittle to the. point where. if he trips and falls a bit too hard, his bones break. It's like he has the. bones of an elderly person. And the scariest part of all of this is. that Sungjun's lungs were only able to. recover because he was away from the. toxic fumes of the humidifier when he. was hospitalized. He recovered. When he.

got back home, his mom went right back. to using the humidifier because she was. told it was good for her son. But. in some sort of act of craziness from. God or the universe or whoever you. believe in, the humidifier broke down. And she read online that sometimes. humidifiers break down if you use too. much disinfectant. She never got around. to purchasing another one, and it didn't. seem like he needed it. She said, "I shudder at the thought of.

what would have happened if I continued. to use the disinfectant in the past 10. years.". In the interview, 13-year-old Sungjun. said, "I guess my only wish is to be able to. run around or go to the gym or go to the. playground with my friends.".

There was another victim whose life was. irreversibly damaged by the sterilizer. So his mom bought the sterilizer after.

watching TV and all these commercials. talking about how healthy this was and. how good it was for family homes. And a. few months later, her baby was. hospitalized. His lungs had literally. collapsed. Thankfully, the doctors stabilized him, and they were able to get him to a point. where he could leave the hospital and. live life on his own. But since he was. one when this happened, his body would. never develop normally ever again. He. also can't exercise. He can't do. anything that's too strenuous on his. lungs. And at 13 years old, he only.

weighs 62 lb. For reference, the CDC. says the average healthy 13-year-old boy. weighs anywhere between 75 to 145 lb. Junseok, his name, Jun, he cannot. exercise, and he was so bored at home. He said that. due to his inability to be active, he. read 10,000 books. He also volunteers as a tour guide at a. museum at 13 years old. And he laughs. happened in 2011?

Yes. 2008 to 2011. So these. They're all like 20 year old right now. Yeah. Oh my god. He said he tries to stay. positive, but no matter how many books. he reads or how positively he thinks, his body is in pain all the time, and he. just gets sad cuz he's in pain. He wants. to voice it. He wants to talk about it. But then his parents get emotional, and. they start blaming themselves. They feel like they're the reason that. this happened.

And he just wants to tell them that none. of this is their fault. None of it. Side note, in the midst of all of this, Yugong, the chemical company, the one. that supplied it to Oxy, they go and. undergo like a branding change, right? They rebrand. They change their name to. SK Chemical to show their direct ties to. the South Korean mega conglomerate SK. Group. They're owned by SK Group. What? Yeah. This is the second largest company. in the country right behind Samsung. So.

when all of this hit in the news, South. Korean netizens were enraged. Parents of. victims, they took time off work, and. they used their own money to hold. rallies in front of Oxy's South Korean. headquarters. But because this is a UK. brand, a lot of these parents flew to. the United Kingdom. They protested at. the headquarters there. Wow. Most people. blamed Oxy because it was their product. Some people blamed Yugong or SK Chemical. for not letting Oxy know not to do that. And a lot of Koreans were also upset.

with the government. They felt like it. was the government's responsibility to. make sure that these corporations were. following the laws. The consumers, they. don't have the power or the funds to do. these types of inspections even if they. wanted to, but the government does have. the power, and they have the money via. taxes, might they add. It is their. literal job to do this. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in. Korea said, "Well, we checked. disinfectants and other household. cleaners, but this is new, and it's. supposed to be for the Ministry of. Environment.". They were the ones that gave the.

non-toxic seal in the first place, so. it's on them. The government also argued that it was. Yugong's fault for giving them the wrong. information about how this product was. going to be used. And then Yugong said, "No, it's Oxy's fault because they were. the one that changed the purpose of the. product and didn't tell anyone.". So, everyone is just blaming everyone, literally. Personally, I think it's. everyone's fault. A top chemistry professor in South Korea. said, "There is no such thing as a. consumable disinfectant, and when you. are putting it into a humidifier, you.

are making it consumable because it is. being inhaled into the body.". Yeah. Yeah, that's what's happening. That's how a humidifier works. You're. getting moisture into the body and onto. the skin. So, what's What are you talking about? We all know logically that we can't eat. sanitizers or sterilizers, even though. they aren't toxic or acidic enough to. harm our skin. So, why didn't they. recognize at the time that constantly. breathing it in would be the same thing?

How could the distributors of PHMG not. have thought about this? This is. literally their company. This is what. they do for a living. How do they not. think about that? Another one of his colleagues said, "Why. do you think people do drugs through. their nose? The drugs get absorbed the. fastest and easiest through the lungs. and through the nose into the system.". I mean, why couldn't we think that. inhaling chemicals in vapor wasn't going. to have some sort of health. repercussions?

It sounds like he's blaming the. consumers, but he's not. The whole. sentiment people had was, "If we all saw. humidifier sterilizers on grocery. shelves, we would not think twice about. it. We would assume that by being on the. shelves, it had gone through all the. necessary test to make sure that it was. safe. It even had a sticker that. advertised how family-friendly it was. and that it was non-toxic guaranteed by. the South Korean government.". I would think, "Oh my god, a bunch of. smart chemists found a way to kill. bacteria through the humidifiers." And. me, having major dust mite allergies, I. would have a thousand percent bought it.

I would have a million percent bought it. if I was a parent with a newborn child. Because I'd be thinking, "I'm doing. what's best for my kid.". So, these victims, they held protests. and rallies, but they also sued. Two. lawsuits were waged against Oxy and. Yugong, well, now SK Chemical. And the. first lawsuit was suspended due to lack. of evidence. The court devastatingly. stated that they could not prove PHMG. was the specific reason for the heart. and lungs and collapsed lungs. A lot of. netizens felt like because SK Chemical.

was directly involved in the lawsuit, the courts dismissed it. SK Group is the. second biggest conglomerate in South. Korea, and honestly, I really shouldn't. be even talking about them, okay? But, um, they bring in $139 billion in. revenue every single year. To give you. comparison, Target brings in about 100. billion in revenue. So, SK Group is is a big corporation. They're huge. They hold a lot of. influence and put in the political. sphere of South Korea. Every country has. their problems with bribery and.

corruption. In the US, we just call it. lobbying, okay? In South Korea, it's. just straight bribery, same thing. Netizens spec- Well, not the same thing, but very similar, okay? You guys get it. Netizens speculated that SK Group had a. lot of influence over the first court. decision. The victims understandably did not react. well to that decision. They stood up in. court and shouted, "Not enough evidence? My dying body is evidence.". Many netizens and victims' families held. protests outside of SK Group now. They.

were putting their lives on hold, just. wanting an apology. Many of the victims'. families, they didn't even want money. They wanted acknowledgement. And they would never get it. SK Chemical kept saying, "Well, it's Oxy. that did it.". And Oxy kept mentioning, "Well, we did. do it, but these professors said that it. was fine.". And for a while, Oxy did nothing. For 5. years since their product was recalled, they just kept hoping the situation.

would would resolve itself or quietly. die down, but it wouldn't. Finally, in. 2016, the CEO of Oxy gave a press. conference and did a complete 90° bow on. stage in front of cameras in South Korea. in hopes that he would show that he was, I don't know, one with the people, respectful of Korean culture. Nobody. cared. Literally, a father of one of the. victims walked on stage and slapped him. across the face.

The CEO said, "This is the first time we. are accepting the fullest. responsibility, and we are offering a. complete and full apology. We are late. Five years have passed.". He also stated that the company would be. setting up a multi-million dollar. humanitarian fund for the victims and. their children. Their compensation plan. was as follows. The victims would be.

split into four main categories, and. they start getting really vague about. the categories. Category one are like. people who died. Category two are people. who like didn't die, but their lives are. affected. Category three are like, "Mm, are you even sure that you're sick. because of us?" Like, that's basically. what they're saying. Category one is. like, "You bought it, but I don't think. nothing happened to you.". They were just so vague about. everything. So vague about how someone. would be able to Like, they were saying, "If you could prove that, you know, you're category one victim, then you.

would get a certain amount of. compensation." But, people are like, "How would I prove that I died because. of you?". I technically I died because my lungs. hardened. Like, you're being so vague. about it. Like, it's weird. It made it seem like there were so many. guardrails put in place and nobody would. get com- compensated. Now, side note, the numbers on how many people directly. or indirectly lost their lives from the. product differs wildly. Some state it's. around 1,500 people that died. Some.

state indirectly it's closer to 16,000. Indirectly meaning these people later. went on to develop some sort of cancers. or autoimmune diseases. So, it's not. direct death, but it's like you're going. to die from this cancer or this disease. So, it's an indirect death. Yeah, I mean. it I mean, it's almost direct, yeah. So, netizens did not really trust Oxy. even after this press conference, and it. doesn't really matter if we believe them. or not because they said the fund ran. out. And they're not paying any more victims. We don't even know how many victims were.

compensated. There were no figures on. what I could find about how many of them. were registered victims, how many of. them were compensated, how much they. were compensated. And just to show you. how bad it was, one of the victims, Min-seon, she said that her first child. was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. because of Oxy's chemical. On top of. that, she and her youngest child have. lifelong asthma because of this. chemical. She said she never got. anything from Oxy or SK Chemical for. compensation. The government set up a. fund and gave her a little bit of money.

They gave her and her youngest child. medical bills, some medical bills. They compensated for some medical bills. because they were like, "Oh, asthma is. probably a direct compensation." But, they were like, "You can't prove that. the autoimmune disease came from the. chemical.". So, they're literally drowning in. medical bills. I mean, probably not as. much as it would have been in the US, but they have a lot of bills. They have. a lot of work that they've been skipping. to go to and from all these hospital. visits. Like, the financial impact was. large for these people, and these are.

just like regular everyday people. They're not the CEOs of Oxy. They're not. loaded. She said that the bills have made it. really tough for the family, and because. it had been 10 years since this. happened. So, she was talking about it. in 2021. when everything started coming to light, you know, there were rumors that these. victims were going to be filthy rich. because Oxy was a mega corp. Cuz, you know, I guess in America, even. we have the sentiment of like, "Oh my. god, this huge corporation did this. They're You're going to sue them and. make millions and billions of dollars.".

Everyone assumes that the victims of. this humidifier sterilizer are filthy. rich, and she says, "I want to tell. people that is not true. False. information is being spread, and many. people are forgetting about the victims, and they think that we're making money. off of this. It is so painful.". I want this case to gain attention and. to tell people the reality of the. situation about all the victims'. situations. I would appreciate it if the. government didn't act so mildly towards. the victims anymore. Either way, Oxy still wasn't off the. hook. An ex-Oxy employee came out and.

said during a trial in South Korea that. Oxy totally knew how profitable the. sterilizer were going to be for them. They had much incentive to put this on. the shelves. So, the UK headquarters. allegedly were having trouble bridging. the sales gap in the wintertime. So, I guess everyone does like spring. cleaning, summertime cleaning. Like, you. got people over, you're partying, you're. going on vacations and having house. parties, and you're buying all these. cleaning products. And then in the. winter, everyone kind of stays home. You. don't open your windows as much. I feel.

like maybe there is a trend of cleaning. less during the winter. Okay. And I don't I don't know, right? But, they were saying, you know, they. needed some sales in the wintertime, and. now that their South Korean branch had. this new liquid sanitizer for. humidifiers, it was flying off the. shelves and bridging that monetary gap. during the seasons. Just about every. South Korean uses a humidifier during. the winter, and with a bit of. advertising about the dangers of mold in. humidifiers, boom, he said. That's what the ex-. Oxy employee said.

Also, PHMG came in liquid form, which. meant that it was much cheaper to. transport across different countries, and it was cheaper to process compared. to other chemicals that they handle. So, some came Some chemicals, I guess, come. in like vapor forms or gas forms, and. those are hard. Vapor, gas forms, and those are hard, right? It would take a lot less money to. make, and it would be a best-seller. Oxy did not like that. This. ex-employee's statement. Oxy did not. want the blame so bad. So, when they.

went to court, they literally blamed. South Korea, the whole government. So, the government already accepted their. responsibility. They were the only ones. that did. They drafted, passed, and. enacted laws to make sure that this. would never happen again. They tried to. set up their own compensation fund for. the victims, albeit it was horrible. It. was not enough money. But, the CEO of. Oxy still tried to shift the blame. So, I'm just going to read you a court. transcript back in 2020, and I'm going to paraphrase it to make. the message clear. But, it's very much giving, I know I.

broke the law, but why did it take you. so long to catch me? Technically, it's. your fault. If you caught me sooner, less people would have died. Like, that's the energy. To the judge, the CEO said, "If in 1994, when SK Chemical first created and sold. this humidifier disinfectant, and also. in 1996, when Oxy first released it, if. the government took more accurate. measures to watch the process and. develop, would we have seen such a. tragedy unfold today?". The judge literally says, "So, this is. the government's fault." The CEO ignores.

the judge, and the judge goes on to talk. about how when the product was recalled, Oxy should have made a compensation plan. for the victims, instead of trying to. cover it up, such as hiring these random. professors to say that there was no. link. And that now, in 2020, after all. of this has happened, you know, now you. want to be like, "Oh my god, I'm sorry, but now your compensation fund has also. run out of money." Like, what? And then, without a single hesitation, the CEO of. Oxy goes on to say, "In 2016, when our. company acknowledged responsibility and. provided compensation, if the government.

institutions and SK Chemical, who has. the responsibility, had worked together. to take that responsibility and create. compensation for the victims, then the. victims would not have to endure such. painful suffering to this extent.". They're basically saying, "We just did. compensation out of the goodness of our. hearts, and honestly, it was you guys. who should have done it." "If you guys. had done it, the victims would not have. suffered as much.". On SK Chemical's part, they gave the. courts four of their employees on a. silver platter, and they said, "These.

are the ones that did it. So, thank them." The employees said, "We. did not know that this chemical would be. used in this way. We created this. chemical because we were asked to. We. thought it would be used as a rug. cleaner, or some sort of. industrial-strength cleaner. How is this. our problem?". But, SK Chemical's lawyers were a lot. better than these employees' lawyers, and they technically were the ones who. created the chemical. So, they got 7. years in jail each. They just threw some low-ladder.

employees under the bus, and thought. that they could move on now. And it. worked. I mean, that's crazy. Like, I. don't even understand how that worked. Imagine your employer tells you to make. something, and they're like, "It's going. to be for rug cleaner." They don't use. it as a rug cleaner. It ends up being. used for something else, and people are. like drinking this, and they die, and. they're like, "Okay, you're going to. jail now.". You're like, "This isn't even my IP. This is. I'm not even making royalties off the. sales of this Like, what are you talking. about? Why is this my problem? I'm. literally a 9-to-5 employee right now.".

Oxy's South Korean representative was. arrested and sentenced to 7 years in. prison, as well. So, basically, what Oxy. was doing is saying, "Hey, the UK. headquarters, our mega-corporation, has. nothing to do with this. This is the. South Korean branch. We have no control. over them. They're crazy. They're doing. some crazy stuff over there.". And that is it. None of the big, rich. guys who controlled these companies were. really touched in any of this. Oxy did take a huge financial hit. The. news got so big that there was a. worldwide boycott, very brief, but.

a global boycott of Oxy products. Like, the scale of this. Yeah. Thousands. of people died, and probably tens of. thousands of people, their whole life is. ruined. Yeah. And changed forever. Yeah, and it. like you're saying, like five employees. got a couple years. Yeah. How is that fair? It's not. And I think what's scary is. the thing is, it keeps happening. Like, when cigarettes came out, it was never.

said to be a killer. It was like said to. be this thing that's good for people, or. like a good stress reliever. So, imagine. how many things today we're going to be. in 20 years, like, "Oh my god, that was. killing all of us, and we just found out. now.". Like, I'm so scared to even think about. it, because I would start to get so. paranoid about every tiny little thing. that we do. But, it's just scary, and I. think this puts into perspective, at. least for me, like, I really cannot. trust this idea of, "Oh, a big company.

wouldn't do that, because they're going. to get like a class-action lawsuit. That's crazy.". Yeah. I mean, I would like to believe I. mean, Oxy's still going strong. They're. now known as the RB Group. They're. killing it. They're going strong, and so is the SK. Group. They're like untouchable in South. Korea, and in the US now, right? So, I. would like to believe that both. companies made improvements in their. safety teams, but who really knows? This singular product is known to have.

killed over a thousand people in South. Korea, and it seems like everyone kind. of knew that it wasn't good for people. It's not being sold anymore, thankfully, but there were tens of millions of. bottles sold. The likelihood that. there's still some bottle out there, unused, underneath someone's kitchen. sink, is terrifying. I will say South Korea has seen a wave. of chemophobia, chemophobia. I guess. it'd be chemophobia. But, um yeah, ever since the Since then, South Korean families are really crazy.

about using chemicals in any sort of. cleaning products. Like, I think I would. say my mom is not that bad, but I know a. lot of Koreans that don't even like. Clorox wipes. Really? Yeah. Like, any sort of chemical, they're so. opposed to it, especially in Korea. So, that's why you see a lot of Koreans. cleaning with like vinegar mixtures. We. love a good vinegar mixture clean. It's. a little stinky, but it works. Yeah. Which, honestly, I can see how that. happened.

In 2019, Junseok gave a speech. So, June. is the 13-year-old boy who read 10,000. books, and he gave a speech in front of. the Korean Congress in 2019, and he. titled it, "Eight Things I Cannot Do.". He says, "Hello, I am a victim of the. humidifier disinfectant. My lung blew up. and collapsed when I was 1 years old. First, I cannot exercise because I run. out of breath. Second, I cannot join my friends when. they're playing. Third, I cannot blow up a balloon, even.

if I wanted to. Fourth, I cannot play any wind instruments, like. the flute. Fifth, I cannot go to school every day. because of all of my hospital. appointments. Sixth, I always have to bring tissues. around, because I always have a runny. nose, or I sneeze uncontrollably. Seventh, I am underweight, and every time I need. an injection, which is frequently, they. have to poke me a lot.

Eighth, it is easy for me to fall over, even if. my friends push me softly.". The toxic humidifier disinfectant was. sold by greedy companies, and the. government allowed it. Nobody is taking. responsibility, and I want them to all. take responsibility for their actions. and decisions. But, it seems like they still haven't, and I don't think that they have plans. to. So, that is the story of the silent.

killer who killed over a thousand people. in South Korea. What are your thoughts? I mean, does this Like, does it feel. like a wake-up call in some way to you? What else do you think is happening. today that in 20 years from now, we're. going to be like, "Oh my god, how did we. not see that?". What are your thoughts? And please stay. safe, and I will see you guys on. Wednesday for the main episode. Bye.