Gov't to convene meeting this week to address growing electric car concerns

Vice ministers from various government agencies will hold a meeting this week to address growing safety concerns over electric cars, following the recent explosion of an electric sedan in an underground apartment parking lot, the government said Monday.

The Office for Government Policy Coordination is set to preside over the vice ministerial meeting on Tuesday as part of the government's plan to announce a set of measures to prevent electric car fires early next month, according to officials.

During the meeting, vice ministers from the transportation and environment ministries and other agencies, are expected to share their respective measures aimed at preventing electric car fires, the officials said.

Earlier Monday, President Yoon Suk Yeol called for "swift measures" to ease public concerns over electric vehicle fires in a weekly meeting with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, according to presidential spokesperson Jeong Hye-jeon.

Public concerns about the safety of electric vehicles (EVs) have risen after a parked Mercedes-Benz electric vehicle caught fire for unknown reasons early this month and gutted an entire parking garage under an apartment building in Incheon, west of Seoul.

Dozens of residents were taken to hospitals for smoke inhalation, while 87 vehicles were burned and nearly 800 others sustained smoke damage.

Hundreds of apartment residents were also relocated to temporary shelters due to water and power disruptions.

Government countermeasures are expected to focus on two main areas: the handling of EVs and the management of electric car chargers and other infrastructure.

Among the measures currently under consideration is a plan by the transportation ministry to require the inclusion of battery makers' names in the specifications for EVs.

The Seoul city government is also planning to recommend revising apartment regulations to allow only electric cars charged 90 percent or less to park in underground garages at apartment buildings.

Measures under consideration for electric car chargers, meanwhile, include expanding the use of chargers equipped with power line communication modems, which prevent overcharging by communication with EVs.

They also include a plan to prohibit the installation of chargers in underground garages that are not easily accessible to firefighters in case of a fire.

Fire authorities are also separately considering plans to increase the density of sprinkler installations in underground parking lots and enhance the responsiveness of sprinklers against fires.