[THE INVESTOR] Coway, a Korean water purifier-maker, officially apologized over harmful substances found inside its ice-water purifier products. 

“We deeply apologize for the contaminant found inside the water purifier, which is designed for consumers to drink clean water safely,”Coway said in a statement released on July 4 and offered full refund or exchange of the affected products. 

On July 3, local broadcaster SBS reported that Coway received complaints from consumers that some metal powder was detected inside the ice storage bin of the purifier last July. Coway, after examining 29 products, found out that some of metal materials came off from an internal component that makes ice.

However, Coway did not report these findings to the consumers, instead repaired and exchanged the affected products through costumer service. As of now, 97 percent of the repair service has been conducted, Coway said. 

“We were aware that it was nickel that was detected from the product, and with the consultation from the experts, found out that the substance is harmless to human body,” the company said. “We thought offering speedy customer service was the most responsible solution, not taking into account of the customer’s anxiety and disappointment felt by the company. We will take full responsibility to resolve the issue and do our best to develop the products for the same incident to not occur again in the future.”

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)