A fire that left many South Koreans in a panic about the reliability of electric vehicles has prompted the country to take unprecedented measures to assuage public fears over battery safety.
Earlier in 2024, an unplugged Mercedes-Benz electric sedan caught fire and exploded, destroying an underground car park in Incheon, west of Seoul. The blaze left more than 200 families homeless for weeks and took firefighters more than eight hours to extinguish.
The incident quickly soured public perception of battery-powered cars, with most of the news coverage and posts on social media focused around the risk of EV fires and South Korea’s lack of safety regulations. Discussions among car manufacturers and lawmakers followed, leading the government to announce an overhaul of EV policies in early September.
The new set of regulations included mandating carmakers disclose the brands of their batteries, expanding the scope of safety inspections for existing EVs and preventing vehicles from being fully charged.
The government has also directly stepped in to ensure the safety of batteries via a state-run certification system. The pilot project has been running since mid-October with five companies taking part.
The project is aimed at improving EV safety by having the government examine and certify the safety of EV batteries before installation. Before the initiative, EVs were sold in South Korea without any third-party safety tests. Under the new system, state-run agencies like the Korea Automobile Testing and Research Institute will put batteries through their paces before installation, ensuring they meet government-backed safety certification standards.
The government is also mandating carmakers and cell manufacturers disclose more details about their batteries. Previously, companies only shared the capacity and maximum output of a battery. Now, they’re required to specify the battery type (prismatic, pouch or cylindrical) and the raw materials used.
Officials say the pilot should provide consumers with significantly more information when purchasing an EV. Its full implementation is expected from February.
New buildings are also now required to feature enhanced fire monitoring systems and use more fire-resistant materials. Smaller fire trucks will be deployed nationwide, starting next year, so that they can enter underground lots. These measures are especially critical since most Koreans live in high-density flats, where a large number of charging stations are located in underground garages.
The government has pledged to work with its EV safety task force team through the end of the year to develop further measures to mitigate fire risks.
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