(LEAD) Gov’t, ruling party call for mandating disclosing battery brand information of electric vehicles

The government and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) agreed Sunday to introduce a system mandating automakers to disclose the battery brand information of all electric vehicles (EVs). During a meeting between senior government officials and PPP officials, the two sides also agreed to launch at an early date a system mandating automakers to get government certification on the safety of the batteries for their EV models, which was initially set to be introduced in February next year. The move comes amid safety concerns triggered by a fire that began in a parked Mercedes-Benz electric vehicle on Aug. 1, which destroyed a parking garage inside an apartment complex in Incheon, 27 kilometers west of Seoul, while either completely destroying or damaging over 100 cars. Days later, a fire broke out in a parked EV in Geumsan, 166 km south of Seoul. Automakers have voluntarily released the information of battery brands used in their electric vehicles following the incident. In this file photo, police move an ele ctric Mercedes-Benz sedan from the underground parking lot of an apartment building after completing their probe in Incheon, 27 kilometers west of Seoul, on Aug. 5, 2024. A fire broke out in the car after it exploded on Aug. 1, resulting in 22 residents and a firefighter being hospitalized. Around 40 cars were burnt and an additional 100 cars in the parking lot were damaged. (Yonhap) In this file photo, police move an electric Mercedes-Benz sedan from the underground parking lot of an apartment building after completing their probe in Incheon, 27 kilometers west of Seoul, on Aug. 5, 2024. A fire broke out in the car after it exploded on Aug. 1, resulting in 22 residents and a firefighter being hospitalized. Around 40 cars were burnt and an additional 100 cars in the parking lot were damaged. (Yonhap) The government and the PPP also agreed to deploy equipment to put out fires in EVs to all fire stations nationwide, conduct free safety checks on EV batteries annually and distribute 90,000 units of "smart char gers" that prevent the excessive charge of batteries. In addition, underground parking lots in newly constructed buildings will be required to install sprinklers capable of early fire detection and prevention. Source: Yonhap News Agency