Gov't, PPP agree to mandate disclosure of EV battery information

The government agreed with the conservative People Power Party to require EV manufacturers to reveal their battery information and initiate a certification system.

Vehicles parked in the garage of an apartment complex in Incheon where Mercedes-Benz's EQE EV exploded are blackened on Aug.8. [NEWS1]

The government and the conservative People Power Party (PPP) agreed to mandate that EV manufacturers reveal their battery suppliers amid growing safety concerns about battery-equipped vehicles in the country.

They also concurred on the pre-emptive initiation of a government certification system for EV batteries from October, bringing it forward from the original schedule of next February.

"The government decided to mandate the disclosure of battery information, which had been voluntarily done by EV manufacturers in the past for the sake of people's right to awareness regarding EV safety," said Han Ji-ah, a senior PPP spokesperson on Sunday.

The battery certification system will require manufacturers to get approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport confirming that their products conform to safety standards, a process that has been voluntary.

Installation of what's called smart chargers that prevent EVs from overcharging — a major reason behind EV fires — will be expanded to 90,000 units by the end of next year. Regulations related to the installation of early fire sensors and sprinkler systems in buildings will be revamped as well.

A spate of EV fire cases have been reported in Korea recently, the first of which was an underground parking garage fire at an apartment complex in Incheon on Aug. 1 caused by an exploding Mercedes EQE EV, equipped with a Chinese battery, that hospitalized 23 people. It also caused damage to 880 vehicles parked in the garage and water supply outages for nearly 500 households for a week.

The incident sent a jolt across the EV and battery industries in Korea, resulting in the consequent disclosure of battery brands, considered highly confidential before.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]