Jung Da-hyun is a reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues in Korea, including foreign residents, education, environment and politics. Driven by a deep interest in people’s stories, she focuses on investigative and feature reporting through direct interviews and field coverage. She received the Amnesty International Korea Media Award for her “Deepfake Crisis at Schools” series. Reach her at dahyun08@koreatimes.co.kr. Always open to hearing your stories.
Seoul city tightens parking lot safety rules amid growing fears of EV fires
Charred vehicles sit in an underground parking lot where an electric vehicle burst into flames at an apartment in Incheon’s Cheongna International City, Aug. 1. Yonhap
By Jung Da-hyun
Capital city to ban EVs charged over 90% from underground parking
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Friday that it will implement stricter safety regulations for underground parking lots in response to rising public concerns about electric vehicle (EV) fires.
Citing excessive charging as a major cause of these incidents, the city government will recommend that only EVs charged to less than 90 percent be permitted entry into apartment building parking lots.
According to the National Fire Agency, there have been 187 EV fire cases in Seoul alone from 2018 to June of this year.
The number of EV fires nationwide has increased every year, rising from 24 cases in 2021 to 43 in 2022 and 72 in 2023, coinciding with the growing number of electric vehicles on the roads.
Last year, parking lots were the most common sites for these incidents, accounting for 27 of the 72 reported cases.
Fires occurring while vehicles were parked reached 21, making it the second highest category after those occurring while driving, which totaled 34. Additionally, 13 fires were reported during charging.
These fires have been attributed to various factors, including external shocks and battery defects. Excessive charging is frequently cited as one of the primary causes.
Accordingly, the city government believes limiting charging levels is a significant step in preventing such incidents.
Yeo Jang-kwon, director of Climate and Environment Headquarters at Seoul Metropolitan Government, announces the city's safety measurements addressing electric vehicle fires at Seoul City Hall, Friday. Yonhap
The city plans to implement a policy capping EV charging at 90 percent. As an initial step, it will recommend that, by the end of next month, only EVs charged to less than 90 percent be permitted to enter underground parking lots in apartment buildings.
The city also plans to issue certificates verifying compliance with the 90 percent charging limit.
Electric car owners can request that manufacturers enhance the durability and safety margin of their vehicles from the current three to five percent to 10 percent. This adjustment effectively caps the battery's charging limit at 90 percent. Once the adjustment is made, a certificate confirming the change will be issued.
Durability performance and safety margin refer to a portion of the battery capacity that manufacturers reserve to enhance battery longevity. By setting this margin to 10 percent, the battery's actual usage is capped at 90 percent, despite appearing to be fully charged on the car’s monitor.
These certificates aim to address the challenge of maintaining and monitoring target charging rates set by EV owners.
Additionally, the city government will enforce an 80 percent charging limit on high-speed chargers in public facilities, such as city-operated parking lots or ones in government buildings. This limit will initially apply to 108 high-speed chargers managed by the city by the end of September, with plans to expand it to 280 chargers by the year's end.
Furthermore, the Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters will ramp up inspections to enhance fire safety management at EV charging facilities in apartment buildings.
By the end of next month, the agency will conduct emergency checks on the maintenance and functionality of firefighting systems, such as sprinklers, at around 400 apartment complexes in the city with EV charging stations.
This move follows an incident in Incheon’s Cheongna International City on Aug. 1, where a malfunctioning sprinkler system exacerbated the damage caused by an EV fire. The blaze resulted in 140 vehicles being damaged or destroyed and 23 people being hospitalized for smoke inhalation.
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The city government also plans to revise building review standards by October to establish safety requirements addressing the risk of large-scale fires from EVs.
The new guidelines stipulate that charging facilities should preferably be installed above ground. If they need to be placed underground, they must be positioned on the top floor of the parking structure.
Currently, a majority of EV chargers in apartment buildings are situated underground. Out of 3,100 apartment complexes with chargers, 2,721, or 87 percent, are located in underground parking areas. Furthermore, of the 39,243 chargers installed in these buildings, 35,858, or 91 percent, are found in underground parking lots.