South Korea To Hold Emergency Meeting on EV Fire Risk After Apartment Blaze

Charred vehicles in the wake of a massive fire due to an electric vehicle that ignited, in Incheon, South Korea, on August 2, 2024. (Yonhap/Reuters)

South Korea will hold an emergency meeting this week to discuss safety concerns over electric vehicles, in the wake of a massive blaze in an underground parking garage, caused by an electric vehicle (EV) that caught fire, the government said Monday.

At the meeting on Tuesday, vice ministers from various government agencies are expected to share their measures to prevent electric car fires. South Korea’s government is set to announce new rules on EVs in the next few weeks.

The fire in a parking garage beneath an apartment block in the city of Incheon on Aug. 1 took eight hours to extinguish. Dozens of residents in the apartment block were evacuated, and 87 vehicles burned while hundreds more had smoke damage.

The fire started for unknown reasons in a Mercedes-Benz EV.

Images published in South Korean media showed dozens of charred cars in the parking lot, reduced only to their metal frames.

In South Korea, many apartment blocks have underground garages, which has led to higher levels of public concern about EVs.

In a report published in February, the Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters said 1,399 fires occurred in underground parking lots in South Korea between 2013 and 2022, with almost 44 percent attributed to vehicles.

Tighter Laws for EV Makers

South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported last week that the country plans to require EV makers to disclose the brand of batteries in cars. Transport ministry officials will hold talks Tuesday with Mercedes-Benz Korea, Hyundai Motor Group, and Volkswagen Group Korea to discuss the proposals, media reports said.

According to The Korea Times, after the fire in Incheon, Mercedes-Benz Korea issued a statement saying it “will immediately investigate the vehicle thoroughly in cooperation with authorities.”

In June, a fire at the Aricell lithium battery factory in Hwaseong City killed 23 workers.

The fire originated on the second floor of the factory, where more than 35,000 lithium batteries were stored. Many of those who died were Chinese immigrant workers, according to local media.

Earlier this month, a Kia electric crossover EV6, powered by South Korean battery maker SK On’s batteries, caught fire in a parking lot.

Park Moon-woo, lead author of a report on the response to EV fires in underground garages, said disclosure would give buyers more choice, but he pointed out there was no evidence one EV battery brand is more prone to fire than any other brand.

Experts say EVs burn differently than batteries in cars with internal combustion engines.

In January, Matt Humby, a senior technical consultant at fire extinguisher manufacturer Firechief Global, told The Epoch Times that fires in electric vehicles “may last longer and be more liable to re-ignite.”

He said there were “significant differences in the best practices for fire detection and firefighting for electric vehicles.”

Mercedes-Benz Korea, Hyundai Motor Group and Volkswagen Group Korea have not commented in relation to Tuesday’s meeting. However, on its website, Mercedes-Benz Group said it “has developed a multi-stage high-voltage protection concept for its electric vehicles.”

“The system has eight key elements to ensure the safety of the battery and all components with a voltage above 60 volts,” it added.

In January, a British MP called on the UK government to address the risk posed by lithium battery fires in vehicles.

Conservative MP Bob Blackman said, “There’s a huge fire safety risk, and you could get to a position whereby a block of flats [apartments] could literally collapse under the circumstances, which doesn’t bear thinking about.”

“Lithium is one of those chemicals which burns at a very high temperature ... and adding water to lithium is not a good plan either ... It is a very high risk, and our problem is that the technology and safety is not yet proven,” he added.

Reuters contributed to this report.