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A Christian Social Ethical Reflection on Companion Animal Loss in the Humidifier Disinfectant Disaster

  • The Korean Journal of Chiristian Social Ethics
  • Abbr : 기사윤
  • 2025, (63), pp.313~343
  • DOI : 10.21050/CSE.2025.63.10
  • Publisher : The Society Of Korean Christian Social Ethics
  • Research Area : Humanities > Christian Theology
  • Received : November 14, 2025
  • Accepted : December 7, 2025
  • Published : December 31, 2025

Seongho Kim 1,  Woochan Shim 2,  Gyeong Woo Jang 3

1한국성서대학교
2대전대학교
3숭실대학교

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ABSTRACT

This study analyzes how the humidifier disinfectant disaster simultaneously harmed humans and companion animals living in the same household environment, drawing on in-depth interviews with nine bereaved caregivers. The findings show that animals displayed early signs of toxic exposure, yet institutional responses failed to recognize nonhuman victims as part of the disaster-affected population. Caregivers, who regarded their animals as family, faced socially unacknowledged loss, resulting in intensified disenfranchised grief. Some participants eventually moved beyond isolated mourning and became public actors demanding accountability from corporations and the state. These results reveal the limitations of anthropocentric disaster frameworks and underscore the need to incorporate human–animal–environment interdependence into disaster response through a One Health perspective. The study also suggests that Christian social ethics, particularly the tradition of creation care, can provide a basis for understanding companion-animal loss as a matter of public mourning and for expanding theological and social-welfare discourse.

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