The press conference was broadcast live on TV in South Korea. It didn’t take long until the footage of an enraged family member of a deceased victim slapping Ataur Safdar, Head of Reckitt Benckiser South Korea division emerged online. Safdar appeared calm and tried apologizing to the deceased family members that were present despite the tension and the shouting in background.

After the incident, he politely requested that he was given the chance to finish his statement. In the statement on behalf of the company, he stated that this is the first time that they are accepting the fullest responsibility, and are offering a complete and full apology. He later added “We were late, five years have passed, (and) we are also apologizing far too late. This is what we are apologizing about.”