Contested Interpretations of Toxic Substances and Marginalized Victims in Korea's Environmental Pollution Relief System

• In Event: Toxic Subjects: Historical, Legal, Occupational, and Medical Perspectives - II

Abstract

In Korea, “Act on Liability and Relief for Environmental Damage” has been enacted and implemented since 2016. This law was enacted to clarify the liability for damages to the environment pollution and to establish an effective damage relief system to relieve victims from environmental pollution damage quickly and fairly. In particular, if the cause of the environmental pollution is unknown, or the facilities providing the cause are unclear or unable to compensate, the government may provide relief funds to victims under this Act. There have been three requests for relief funds since 2017, but one case was denied and two cases received only a small amount of relief funds. In all three cases, residents around the factory suffered from diseases such as cancer and pneumoconiosis due to heavy metals and toxic substances used in factories. This presentation will analyze three examples of relief fund requests in Korea through literature research and in-depth interviews. In particular, toxic substances and heavy metals were defined, measured, and evaluated differently by each actor in understanding the contamination of the soil, the cause of the disease, and the responsibilities of the factory. According to these evaluations, even if soil pollution was admitted, it was concluded that the causal relationship of disease occurrence cannot be recognized. This presentation argues that these contesting interpretations have marginalized victims from relief system. This analysis provides insight into what the law and relief system should consider in assessing risks and causation when a substance causes both environmental pollution and disease.

Author

• Jinyoung Christine Park, Seoul National University, Republic of Korea