SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – In a significant regulatory shift, the South Korean government and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) have decided to mandate automakers to disclose the battery brand information for all electric vehicles (EVs). This decision, reached during Sunday’s meeting between senior government officials and PPP members, also includes an acceleration of government certification for the safety of EV batteries, initially scheduled for February of the next year.
According to Yonhap News Agency, this move is a direct response to recent safety incidents, including a fire that erupted in a Mercedes-Benz electric vehicle on August 1, leading to the destruction of a parking garage and damage to over 140 vehicles in an apartment complex in Incheon. Following this event, another EV fire occurred in Geumsan, prompting voluntary disclosure of battery information by several automakers.
The government and the PPP have also agreed on several other safety measures, including equipping all fire stations nationwide with devices to extinguish EV fires, conducting annual free safety checks on EV batteries, and distributing 90,000 “smart chargers” designed to prevent battery overcharging. Additionally, new regulations will require underground parking lots in newly constructed buildings to install sprinklers specifically designed for early fire detection and prevention.