Greenpeace under probe for defacing Hyundai's billboard

Greenpeace activists put stickers on Hyundai Motor's billboard in southern Seoul, Sunday, calling for an end to the internal-combustion engine. Yonhap

By Kang Seung-woo

Activists from Greenpeace Korea have allegedly damaged a Hyundai Motor billboard in a campaign against internal-combustion engines, with police saying Monday they were investigating them on suspicion of destruction of property.

"After receiving a report from Hyundai about the damage to its huge billboard on display near its headquarters, we are now looking into the case," an officer of the Seocho Police Station said.

According to the officer, the activists used a ladder truck to put stickers on the 40-meter-high billboard promoting the carmaker's Sonata, Sunday. They left the message "Now stop using internal-combustion engine cars."

The environmental organization said the campaign was part of a global protest calling for an immediate end to the production and use of cars running on internal-combustion engines that it refers to as the main culprits behind climate change.

"Vehicles manufactured by Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors last year emitted 401 million gross tons of carbon dioxide equivalent," Greenpeace said on its website, based on a December report. "It was the fifth-largest behind Volkswagen, Renault Nissan, Toyota and General Motors.

According to the report, the Korean carmakers' carbon footprint exceeded the total annual emissions of Poland at 379 million gross tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, and the top five emitters were responsible for 55 percent of the industry's carbon footprint.

The report also said Hyundai-Kia's plan to aggressively increase the proportion of SUVs in its product portfolio will "inevitably lead to higher greenhouse gas emissions."

"To meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, all major automakers are required to urgently phase out diesel and petrol cars, including hybrids, by no later than 2028," a Greenpeace Korea official said.

"As governments increase pressure on firms to follow environmental regulations year after year, car manufacturers will die out if they fail to transition away from the internal-combustion engine. For the nation's top carmakers Hyundai and Kia to survive in the future, they have to announce a plan to phase out diesel and petrol cars and produce smaller and more energy-efficient electric vehicles."

Starting Sept. 7, Greenpeace has stepped up its efforts to push car manufacturers to address worsening climate change, which it believes the manufacturers have driven with their products.

In particular, its protest was on full display during the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany as a protester stood on cars at the exhibition holding "climate killer" posters, demanding an immediate phase-out of internal-combustion engines.

Greenpeace and other environmental groups also marched to urge governments worldwide to prioritize walking and cycling in their transportation policies.

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