South Korean victims of environmental asbestos have been recognized by the state and awarded compensation for the first time in history. Asbestos is a highly toxic naturally occurring mineral that was commonly used in construction and other industries throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. It is now known that asbestos causes fatal respiratory illnesses, such as asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the protective lining of the body’s major cavities and organs.
Up to now, Korean workers exposed to asbestos on the job could seek compensation through industrial accident insurance, but no restitution existed for environmental victims, in other words, residents of areas near asbestos factories and asbestos mines. Whenever asbestos is disturbed, it releases carcinogenic fibers that become easily airborne. Anyone in or near an area where asbestos is handled is at risk of inhaling said fibers and developing asbestos cancer several decades down the line.
The Seo-Gu-based Korea Environmental Corporation’s (KECO) Asbestos Damage Judgment Committee, has reviewed 37 reports of patients suffering from malignant mesothelioma under the Act on Asbestos Health Damage Relief, which came into effect this year. Thus far 22 cases have been recognized as having been caused by asbestos exposure. In six of these cases, the patient had already passed away and the family members received the compensation.
Most Korean asbestos victims were exposed by living in an area near an asbestos mine or factory or working in them. Approximately 59% of the cases were residents of Hongseong County and Boryeong in South Chungcheong Province, where many asbestos mines and factories are located.