Toxic humidifier survivors face daily struggles, discrimination

Humidifier disinfectant survivors are facing discrimination, school disruptions and military service problems as they reach adulthood. A 2025 government survey found 321 of 1,213 respondents were in their 20s or younger, and many reported daily struggles. Families say schools often misunderstand the condition, while some victims also face barriers in work and service. A revised relief law takes effect in October, but victims and a former investigator say its injury-grade standard is too narrow.

A 2025 Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment survey of victims drew 1,213 responses, and 321 of them, or 26.5 percent, came from victims in their 20s or younger.

In more than 80 percent of responding households, children reported serious trouble with school life and coursework.

About 67.5 percent struggled to concentrate in class, while 55 percent found it difficult to maintain friendships and adapt.

The government said its enforcement decree for the amended Special Act on Remedy for Damage Caused by Humidifier Disinfectants will tie tuition support to each victim's injury grade.

Kim Young-hwan said the right to learn was violated regardless of severity and argued that lifelong support should be kept separate from any injury-grade ruling.

Published Sep 19, 2026 12:00 am KST

Families call for comprehensive social safety nets rather than restrictive support tiers based on lung damage grades

Min Su-yeon, left, a humidifier disinfectant victim, carries a medical oxygen tank while attending a memorial service for the late Seo Young-chul, head of a victims' coalition, at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, Aug. 31. Lee Hyun-seo, right, another victim, inhales Relvar, a treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, at the Hankook Ilbo headquarters in central Seoul, Sept. 3. Korea Times photo by Choi Joo-yeon

"I want to take my shirt off and exercise like my friends do, too!"

Lim Jae-i, 80, cannot forget her grandson's anguished cry years ago. Lee Hyun-seo, 25, was exposed to humidifier disinfectant — an antibacterial liquid added to humidifier water — while still in the womb and was born prematurely. He cycled in and out of hospitals with nontuberculous lung disease, a chronic lung condition unrelated to tuberculosis, and he almost never complained.

Then adolescence arrived and he reached a breaking point. Facing a mirror, he saw a chest left concave by years of drug treatment and labored breathing and a body that remained thin. He realized that his life would never resemble those of his peers.

Lee Hyun-seo, a humidifier disinfectant victim, inhales Relvar, an inhaler used by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients, at the Hankook Ilbo headquarters in central Seoul, Sept. 3. Korea Times photo by Choi Joo-yeon

The infants who bore the brunt of Korea's humidifier disinfectant disaster have reached young adulthood. A 2025 Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment survey of victims drew 1,213 responses, 321 (26.5 percent) of which came from victims in their 20s or younger. A tragedy the public still associates primarily with infant fatalities now runs through its survivors as an unfinished daily grind of school, military service and work.

A childhood photo of humidifier disinfectant victim Lee Hyun-seo / Courtesy of Lee Hyun-seo

The first hurdle these young victims meet is exclusion by their own classmates, inside schools that fail to understand their condition. Min Su-yeon, 58, watched her second son, who is now 20 and was exposed to the disinfectant from age 2 for roughly 10 years, suffer lifelong trauma because a teacher misunderstood his physical limits.

The boy always sat out physical education, so the teacher, out of misplaced "consideration," forced him to run. He coughed up blood that day after school. At the hospital, the doctors told the family his lungs were so weak they could rupture during physical exertion. Her son spent most of his time in school in the nurse's office, plagued by crushing fatigue and respiratory attacks.

Lee Hyun-seo, a humidifier disinfectant victim / Korea Times photo by Choi Joo-yeon

The physical pain turned into emotional isolation. Classmates who watched him collapse from breathing attacks that arrived without warning began to avoid him, and the avoidance cut deeper than the illness. He made it into university, but any dip in his condition now leaves him afraid to step outside, and he has suspended his studies and taken academic leave.

One parent of a victim said children in this situation are routinely marginalized by their peers.

"Among the kids, getting stuck with 'humidifier' as a nickname and being shunned by classmates happens all the time," the parent said.

Lee Hyun-seo, a humidifier disinfectant victim, inhales Relvar, a treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, at the Hankook Ilbo headquarters in central Seoul, Sept. 3. Korea Times photo by Choi Joo-yeon

Victims' families delivered a set of 40 in-depth case studies on affected adolescents directly to the environmental ministry. In more than 80 percent of the responding households, children reported serious trouble with school life and coursework. About 67.5 percent struggled to concentrate in class, while 55 percent found it difficult to maintain friendships and adapt.

Parents say the lack of awareness in schools and rigid rules hurt their children more than the damaged lungs do.

"My child was classified as a high suicide risk after the disaster and went for psychological treatment, but the school refused to recognize it as an excused absence and logged it as an unexcused absence," one parent said. "The school broke whatever will to study my child had left."

Lee Yeon-soo, a humidifier disinfectant victim, stands in front of a memorial altar for the late Seo Young-chul, head of a victims' coalition, at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, Sept. 2. Korea Times photo by Choi Joo-yeon

For the boys who survived adolescence, conscription came next. Korea requires military service of all able-bodied men, and 72.6 percent of young victims are ruled fit for active duty, falling into fitness grades 1 to 3. Lee was assigned to alternative civilian service, a noncombat posting, and he still shudders at the memory of basic training.

"I was standing night watch and shouting during long marches, and blood poured out of my throat," he said. "A military doctor at Armed Forces Capital Hospital wrote an opinion saying I could die of hypoxia on a long march, and that got me released from the training camp early." He barely managed to finish his service. He remains liable for mandatory reserve duty.

For victims who reach adulthood, the employment barrier is even higher. Lee trained as a welder at a vocational high school and had to give it up early because of his lung disease.

At a logistics center he fought his way into, the injuries and his shortness of breath persisted, and his colleagues grew distant. On the day he went to the office to ask to leave early, a staffer who had always been kind to him went stone-faced, did not really listen to the reason and told him, "Fine, just go." That was his last day at work. He has stopped looking for a job and stays home.

Victims of the humidifier disinfectant disaster attend a joint memorial service organized by four major religious orders at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, Aug. 31. Korea Times photo by Choi Joo-yeon

Lee Yeon-soo, 28, wanted to be an astronaut. He used humidifier disinfectant from age 3 for about five years, and his life was derailed. He was healthy enough to run a marathon in third grade. A diagnosis of pneumothorax, a collapsed lung, resulted in a doctor's order that shut down every field he cared about.

"Scuba diving, marine biology, anything where internal and external pressures build up — absolutely not," the doctor said.

Full-time employment also became out of reach. Afraid that an interviewer who learns his history will not hire him, he hides his medical record and moves between short-term event jobs. Every time he lifts something heavy, he gasps for air, and he lets none of it show.

"Right up through middle school I was near the top of my class, and after the disaster my concentration went," he said. "Taking the college entrance exam three times, drifting from one short-term job to the next — the hopelessness was enormous."

Min Su-yeon, a humidifier disinfectant victim, carries a medical oxygen tank while attending a memorial service for the late Seo Young-chul, head of a victims' coalition, at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, Aug. 31. Korea Times photo by Choi Joo-yeon

Behind all of it are parents locked into a lifetime of guilt and caregiving. Min, who started using humidifier disinfectant in 1994, embodies the most brutal reality of what this disaster did to families. She cannot leave the house without an oxygen tank, and the toxic damage took five babies from her in the womb.

She still wakes each morning beating her chest in grief. Some 20 years ago, she reached over and turned the humidifier so its mist would reach further into the room where her children were sleeping, and that single motion continues to haunt her.

A portrait of the late Seo Young-chul, head of a humidifier disinfectant victims' coalition, is covered in a plastic sheet ahead of a memorial service at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, Aug. 31. Korea Times photo by Choi Joo-yeon

In October, a revised relief law for humidifier disinfectant victims — the amended Special Act on Remedy for Damage Caused by Humidifier Disinfectants — takes effect. Victims cannot bring themselves to welcome it. The government has said its enforcement decree, the regulation outlining how the law operates, will tie tuition support to each victim's injury grade, the official severity rating assigned to the damage.

Kim Young-hwan, a former investigator at the Special Commission on Social Disaster Investigation, said the grading fails to account for what was actually lost.

"The right to learn was violated regardless of how severe the case is, and the problem is applying a narrow support standard to it," he said. "Lifelong support, at the very least, has to be kept separate from any injury-grade ruling."

Relvar 200, an inhaler for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that humidifier disinfectant victim Lee Hyun-seo takes twice daily / Korea Times photo by Choi Joo-yeon

"The humidifier I switched on hoping they would grow up well turned into my sin, and my grandchild's youth is gone," Lim said, her voice hard and pleading at once. "The state shouldn't be sorting people into grades and drawing lines with a botched decree. It should build a proper fence, so that when we're gone and only the children are left, they can live whole."

Raindrops fall on a white chrysanthemum flower during a memorial service for humidifier disinfectant disaster victims at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, Aug. 31. Korea Times photo by Choi Joo-yeon

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.

加湿器消毒剂中毒幸存者在成年后面临着歧视、学业中断和兵役问题。2025年的一项政府调查发现，在1213名受访者中，有321人年龄在20岁或以下，许多人表示每天都面临着各种困难。受害者家属表示，学校常常误解他们的病情，一些受害者在工作和服务方面也面临障碍。一项修订后的救济法案将于10月生效，但受害者和一位前调查员表示，该法案对伤情等级的界定过于狭窄。

2025 年气候、能源和环境部对受害者进行的一项调查收到了 1213 份回复，其中 321 份回复（占 26.5%）来自 20 多岁或以下的受害者。

在超过 80% 的受访家庭中，孩子们反映他们在学校生活和学业方面遇到了严重问题。

约 67.5% 的学生在课堂上难以集中注意力，而 55% 的学生发现维持友谊和适应环境很困难。

政府表示，其修订后的《加湿器消毒剂损害赔偿特别法》的执行法令将把学费补助与每位受害者的受伤等级挂钩。

金永焕表示，无论伤势轻重，受教育权都受到了侵犯，并认为终身支持应该与任何伤情等级裁定分开。

发布于2026年9月19日凌晨12:00（韩国标准时间）

家属们呼吁建立全面的社会保障体系，而不是根据肺损伤程度划分限制性支持层级。

8月31日，在首尔光化门广场，加湿器消毒剂中毒受害者闵秀妍（左）手持医用氧气罐，参加受害者联盟主席徐英哲的追悼会。9月3日，在首尔市中心的《韩国日报》总部，另一名受害者李贤瑞（右）正在吸入治疗慢性阻塞性肺病的药物瑞尔瓦。韩国时报 崔珠妍摄

“我也想脱掉上衣，像我的朋友们一样锻炼！”

80岁的林在伊（音译）至今仍无法忘记多年前孙子痛苦的哭喊。25岁的李贤瑞（音译）在子宫里就接触到了加湿器消毒剂——一种添加到加湿器水中的抗菌液体——导致早产。他患有非结核性肺病，一种与结核病无关的慢性肺部疾病，因此频繁出入医院，但他几乎从未抱怨过。

青春期到来，他终于崩溃了。对着镜子，他看到多年吸毒和呼吸困难导致胸膛凹陷，身形依然瘦削。他意识到，自己的人生永远也无法像同龄人那样了。

9月3日，在首尔市中心的《韩国日报》总部，因加湿器消毒剂中毒的李贤秀（音译）正在吸入慢性阻塞性肺病患者常用的吸入器Relvar。照片由《韩国时报》崔珠妍拍摄。

当年在韩国加湿器消毒剂灾难中首当其冲的婴儿如今已长大成人。韩国气候、能源和环境部2025年对受害者进行的一项调查共收到1213份回复，其中321份（占26.5%）来自20岁及以下的受害者。这场公众至今仍主要将其与婴儿死亡联系起来的悲剧，如今却给幸存者们带来了未竟的学业、兵役和工作等一系列挑战。

一张李贤瑞童年时因加湿器消毒剂中毒身亡的照片 / 由李贤瑞提供

这些年轻受害者遇到的第一个障碍是被同班同学排斥，因为学校无法理解他们的状况。58岁的闵秀妍（音译）眼睁睁地看着她的二儿子遭受终身创伤。她的儿子从两岁起就接触消毒剂，持续了大约十年，却因为老师误解了他的身体极限而备受煎熬。

男孩总是逃避体育课，老师出于一种错误的“体谅”，强迫他跑步。那天放学后，他咳血了。在医院，医生告诉他的家人，他的肺部非常虚弱，运动时可能会破裂。她的儿子大部分时间都在学校的医务室里度过，饱受极度疲劳和呼吸困难的折磨。

李贤瑞，加湿器消毒剂受害者 / 韩国时报 崔珠妍摄

身体上的痛苦逐渐演变成情感上的孤立。同学们眼睁睁地看着他毫无预兆地因呼吸困难而倒下，开始疏远他，这种疏远比疾病本身更让他痛苦。他最终考上了大学，但如今只要病情稍有好转，他就不敢出门，于是他暂停了学业，休学了。

一位受害者的家长表示，在这种情况下，孩子经常会被同龄人边缘化。

这位家长说：“在孩子们中间，被取名为‘加湿器’这样的绰号，并被同学排斥，这种情况时有发生。”

9月3日，在首尔市中心的《韩国日报》总部，一名因加湿器消毒剂中毒的受害者李贤秀（音译）正在吸入治疗慢性阻塞性肺病的药物瑞瓦（Relvar）。（韩国时报 崔珠妍 摄）

受害者家属直接向环境部提交了40份关于受影响青少年的深入案例研究。在超过80%的受访家庭中，孩子们反映他们在学校生活和学业上遇到了严重困难。约67.5%的孩子难以集中注意力听课，55%的孩子难以维持友谊和适应新环境。

家长们表示，学校缺乏相关意识和僵化的规章制度对孩子的伤害，比肺部受损本身造成的伤害更大。

一位家长说：“灾难发生后，我的孩子被列为高自杀风险人群，并接受了心理治疗，但学校拒绝承认这是请假，而是记为旷课。学校彻底摧毁了我孩子仅存的学习动力。”

9月2日，在首尔光化门广场，加湿器消毒剂中毒事件受害者李延洙站在受害者联盟主席徐永哲的纪念祭坛前。韩国时报 崔珠妍摄

对于那些熬过青春期的男孩来说，接下来就是征兵。韩国要求所有身体健全的男性服兵役，而72.6%的年轻受害者被判定为适合现役，体能等级为1至3级。李被分配到替代性文职工作，一个非战斗岗位，但他至今仍对新兵训练的记忆感到不寒而栗。

“我当时在夜间站岗，长途行军时大声喊叫，结果喉咙里涌出了血，”他说。“武装部队首都医院的一位军医出具了一份意见书，说我长途行军可能会因缺氧而死，这让我得以提前从训练营退役。”他勉强完成了服役。他仍然有义务履行预备役义务。

对于成年后的受害者来说，就业障碍更大。李曾在职业高中接受过焊工培训，但由于肺部疾病不得不提前放弃这份工作。

在他费尽周折才进入的那家物流中心，伤势和呼吸困难的症状持续存在，同事们也渐渐疏远了他。有一天，他去办公室请假，一位一直对他很友善的同事却面无表情，根本没听他解释，就对他说：“行，你走吧。” 那天成了他工作的最后一天。他已经放弃了找工作，待在家里。

8月31日，在首尔光化门广场，四大宗教团体联合举办了加湿器消毒剂泄漏事故遇难者追悼会，遇难者们出席了此次追悼会。（韩国时报 崔珠妍 摄）

28岁的李延洙曾梦想成为一名宇航员。他从3岁起就开始使用加湿器消毒剂，持续了大约五年，这彻底改变了他的人生轨迹。他原本身体健康，三年级时还能跑马拉松。然而，一次气胸（肺部塌陷）的诊断，让医生下令他停止所有他热爱的领域。

“水肺潜水、海洋生物学，任何会产生内部和外部压力的活动——绝对不行，”医生说。

全职工作也变得遥不可及。他害怕面试官了解他的过往后会拒绝录用他，于是隐瞒了自己的病历，辗转于各种短期活动工作之间。每次搬重物，他都会气喘吁吁，但他从不让别人察觉。

“直到初中，我的成绩一直名列前茅，但灾难之后，我的注意力就无法集中了，”他说。“我考了三次高考，不停地换着短期工作——那种绝望感真是难以言喻。”

8月31日，在首尔光化门广场举行的受害者联盟负责人徐英哲的追悼会上，加湿器消毒剂事故受害者闵秀妍（音译）手持医用氧气罐。（韩国时报 崔珠妍 摄）

这一切背后，是那些终生背负着愧疚和重担的父母。敏从1994年就开始使用加湿器消毒剂，她的经历最能体现这场灾难对家庭造成的残酷现实。她出门必须带着氧气瓶，而有毒物质的侵害也夺走了她腹中五个孩子的生命。

她至今每天早上醒来都会捶胸顿足，悲痛欲绝。大约20年前，她伸手转动加湿器，让雾气能更深入地喷洒到孩子们睡觉的房间里，而这一个动作至今仍让她心有余悸。

8月31日，在首尔光化门广场举行的追悼会前，已故加湿器消毒剂事故受害者联盟主席徐英哲的画像被塑料布遮盖着。（韩国时报 崔珠妍 摄）

10月，一项针对加湿器消毒剂受害者的修订救济法——《加湿器消毒剂损害赔偿特别法》（修订版）——正式生效。受害者们对此难以接受。政府表示，其执行令（即该法实施细则）将把学费补助与每位受害者的损害等级（官方对损害的严重程度评级）挂钩。

社会灾害调查特别委员会前调查员金永焕表示，这种评级方式未能反映实际损失。

他说：“无论案情多么严重，受教育权都受到了侵犯，问题在于对援助标准采用了过于狭隘的界定。至少，终身援助必须与任何伤情等级的判定分开。”

李贤瑞（音译）是一名哮喘和慢性阻塞性肺病患者，她每天使用两次Relvar 200吸入器。（韩国时报 崔珠妍摄）

“我打开加湿器，希望孩子们能健康成长，结果却成了我的罪过，我的孙辈的青春就这样逝去了，”林女士语气艰难而恳求道，“国家不应该用拙劣的法令把人分成等级，划定界限。它应该建造一道真正的围墙，这样当我们都走了，只剩下孩子们的时候，他们才能过上完整的生活。”

8月31日，在首尔光化门广场举行的加湿器消毒剂灾难遇难者悼念仪式上，雨滴落在一朵白色的菊花上。（韩国时报 崔珠妍 摄）

本文来自《韩国日报》（《韩国时报》的姊妹报），由人工智能生成系统翻译，并由《韩国时报》编辑。