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| Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mee speaks at the Government Complex in Seoul, Monday, to announce the ministry's decision to ask local governments to ban at-risk BMW vehicles from the roads. Courtesy of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport |
About 20,000 vehicles to be affected
By Park Jae-hyuk
BMW cars that are subject to a recall but haven't undergone emergency safety checks will be banned from streets and highways, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Tuesday.
The unprecedented measure is to ease growing public concerns over a series of engine fires mostly involving BMW's diesel-engine vehicles.
Among BMW's 106,317 cars of 42 models, which will be recalled on Aug. 20, 27,246 have not undergone safety checks as of Monday, according to the ministry.
"The ministry will ask mayors to order owners of unchecked BMW vehicles to have their cars' safety checked or to stop driving them," Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mee said at the Government Complex in Seoul. "The ministry will start taking administrative measures tomorrow to inform the owners of the order. The order will take effect as soon as the owners receive letters from mayors."
According to the law, the central government has no right to prohibit people from driving cars that are found to be dangerous, so it must ask local governments to ban the BMWs from streets and highways. The ministry said it held a meeting Tuesday with local government officials in charge of transport policy.
If the mayors issue the order, the owners should immediately bring their cars in for a safety inspection. They will be prohibited from driving their cars except for driving them to service centers.
Those who disregard the order can be sentenced to up to one year in prison or a maximum 10 million won ($8,800) fine. The transport ministry will distribute a list of BMW owners to the National Police Agency to crack down on those who do not bring their cars in for safety checks.
"The purpose of the order is to urge the owners to have their cars checked as soon as possible," said Kim Kyung-wook, head of the transport ministry's transport and logistics office. "Police officers will escort owners of at-risk BMW cars to a service center, if the officers discover these cars on the streets and highways."
The transport ministry said it will refer the owners to prosecutors, though, if BMWs owned by those who refuse to have them checked catch fire.
BMW Korea said it would additionally check over 5,000 vehicles Tuesday, so slightly over 20,000 vehicles will be subject to the ban.
The local subsidiary of the German luxury carmaker, which initially planned to finish checking the 106,317 cars of the 42 models by Tuesday, said Monday it will continue the safety checks indefinitely.
The transport ministry said the company is capable of performing the safety checks for the remaining vehicles, but owners have been reluctant to go to the service centers these days.
Urging BMW Korea to make every effort to reach the car owners, the ministry vowed to thoroughly investigate the cause of a series of engine fires in BMW vehicles.
It also promised to take measures, such as a wider punitive damage system, to improve safety on Korean roads and highways.
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