Park Jae-hyuk is a seasoned journalist who has provided comprehensive coverage of South Korea's corporate dynamics, economic policies, industry challenges and the global positioning of Korean companies. Based on the articles he has written since joining The Korea Times in 2016, his investigative approach has helped readers understand corporate governance, economic trends and business strategies shaping South Korea’s economy.
'BMW fires to be probed thoroughly'
A BMW service center in Seoul is crowded with cars that are subject to recall, Monday, the same day the German carmaker began a recall of 106,317 vehicles. / Yonhap
By Park Jae-hyuk
Korea Transportation Safety Authority Director Kwon Byung-yoon / Yonhap
Gov't blasts BMW for uncooperative attitude
By Park Jae-hyuk
The Korea Transportation Safety Authority will find out the cause of a series of engine fires in BMW vehicles by the end of this year and verify whether the German carmaker intentionally concealed defects in its cars, the agency said Monday.
The German carmaker began recalling more than 106,000 vehicles Monday of 42 diesel-engine models.
The Korea Transportation Safety Authority, affiliated with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, also defended itself from criticism for its belated response to the engine fires. It blamed BMW for the delayed inspection, citing the carmaker's uncooperative attitude toward the government.
According to the state agency responsible for investigating defective vehicles, it asked BMW Korea for the technical data of the BMW 520d on June 25, July 5 and July 19, after noticing frequent fires in the popular diesel vehicle. However, the company declined to send the data.
The authority said BMW finally admitted to defects in exhaust-gas recirculation (EGR) modules, July 25, as the government began inspecting BMW vehicles.
Considering the uncooperative attitudes, the agency decided to purchase BMW diesel cars to conduct its own tests on the cars. It said it will not depend on the technical data BMW Korea sent to the government agency.
The agency also plans to test the new EGR modules the recalled BMW vehicles will have, so as to find out whether the new products are prone to fire as the previous products were.
The authority promised to consider all possible causes of fires that the nation's news outlets have mentioned.
“We'll consider all possible causes of the fires and discover the exact reason for the accidents by the end of this year, through thorough and scientific investigations,” Korea Transportation Safety Authority Director Kwon Byung-yoon told reporters at the transport ministry's briefing room in Sejong. “With these efforts, we will allow our fellow citizens to drive their cars without worries.”
The authority demanded BMW Korea send a report on its own investigation and additional technical data by Aug. 22. BMW Korea is also urged to submit documents by Aug. 30, as proof that its EGR module is the cause of the series of engine fires.
If BMW Korea is considered to have tried to conceal defects in its cars, the agency will immediately report its attempts to the transport ministry.
For clear and credible investigations, the authority plans to organize a joint investigation team consisting of five professors, six experts in car fires, seven civic activists and three government officials.
Park Sim-soo, a professor of automotive engineering at Korea University, and Ryu Do-jung, head of the Korea Automobile Testing & Research Institute, will jointly lead the investigation team. The agency said it may hire more experts.
The investigation team will make frequent announcements about the results of its investigations and will unveil the tests of BMW vehicles, if needed.