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| People wait in line to buy diesel exhaust fluid in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, Tuesday, Yonhap |
President Moon vows all-out diplomatic efforts to secure overseas supply
By Lee Kyung-min
The continued shortage of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), also known as "urea water," is wreaking havoc on the Korean economy, developing into a full-fledged transport, logistics and public service crisis.
DEF, a key agent needed for operation of diesel freight and passenger vehicles, is in acutely short supply since China banned the import of Australian coal, from which urea is extracted. The ban was a retaliatory move against Australia for faulting China for the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of Korea's large DEF manufacturers shut down around 2013 and Korea has since relied almost exclusively on China for the cheap urea.
The government is scrambling to come up with measures, mostly through imports from other countries including Australia, while clamping down on hoarding and also upgrading lower-quality DEF for industrial purposes to make it suitable for vehicles.
But businesses say the slew of stopgap measures will only be partially effective, given the clear limit in the amount domestically stockpiled, a reason they say diplomatic finesse is critical for a more fundamental and lasting solution to what is set to become a national crisis amplified further by the pandemic.
The Moon Jae-in administration and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea are increasingly wary of how politically charged the crisis is becoming, cornered by the main opposition People Power Party mounting a political offensive against what it deems a perfect opportunity to hurt the prospects of a victory by the ruling party ahead of next year's presidential election.
Stopgap measures
A taskforce set up by eight government ministries and five government agencies announced a set of measures, Tuesday, on ways to navigate the crisis.
They are the finance, foreign, interior, agriculture, trade, environment, land and health ministries as well as the Prime Minister's Secretariat. Also in attendance were the tax, customs, public procurement, police and fire authorities.
A team under the taskforce identified one seller of DEF that violated an executive order that took effect Monday prohibiting the hoarding of the substance.
A separate team is in talks with a local urea importer who agreed to use part of his 3,000 tons in inventory to produce DEF. Of 2,000 tons suitable for vehicular use, 700 tons will undergo a 24-hour procedure to make them into a liquid solution available for immediate use. A total of 2,000 tons of urea will make about 6 million liters of urea water.
Deputy Finance Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and Trade Minister Moon Sung-wook sent a request in writing to seek cooperation with China, Monday, in a move to expedite the prompt and stable supply of the amount far short of the demand surge here.
The government is considering using 210 tons of DEF currently held by the military.
First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said no disruption is expected for about four months in the operation of a combined 4,400 diesel emergency vehicles including fire trucks, fire pump vehicles, fire tanks and ambulances. They account for about two-thirds of 6,700 emergency vehicles owned by the National Fire Agency.
President Moon Jae-in said that the government is mobilizing all diplomatic capabilities to secure overseas sources of DEF, in a request seeking the public's patience and understanding.
"I ask that the public not feel too anxious about the current developments," he said during the Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday. "The issue of supply disruption in urea water has become the most pressing issue. We will spare no efforts to stabilize supply and demand first by utilizing the amount available in the public sector, followed by emergency measures,"
The government is making efforts to find import alternatives, he added, to establish a system to be better prepared against shortages of items the country has high import reliance on.
The government will take this opportunity to better assess the supply and demand of raw materials in the country, an objective to be achieved by broadening the focus to include not only the high-tech industries but also items closely related to daily life.
"A variety of measures will follow to strengthen diversification of exports, technology independence and domestic production of key components to reduce risks of this sort," he said.
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