Don't Fill Out 90 Percent Of Battery! New Rules In South Korea Make Electric Car Owners Furious

South Korean authorities conducted a joint investigation into the burning battery module of the Mercedes EQE EV that caught fire in an underground parking lot in Incheon. (Doc. NEWS1/Korea JoongAng Daily)

JAKARTA - The Seoul City Government has issued new guidelines asking electric car owners not to charge their car batteries more than 90 percent before entering the basement parking garage. This was done as an effort to suppress public concerns about electric car fires in South Korea.

This new guideline follows a major fire in early August that occurred in the Mercedes-Benz electric sedan in the underground garage of an apartment in Incheon City. The fire took more than eight hours to extinguish and damage about 140 cars. A total of 23 people were rushed to the hospital due to inhaling smoke.

However, according to Korea JoongAng Daily, August 23, this guideline has drawn criticism from various parties, including the public and experts. They consider this rule an impractical interim solution and cannot solve the problem fundamentally.

Experts state that the lithium-ion battery charging cycle is not the main cause of electric car fires. They emphasize that the electric car design itself has taken into account safety factors, including battery charging.

Professor Yoon Won-sub of Sung Kinykwan University who also heads a university battery-specific research center and Samsung SDI stated that electric cars are designed to never reach full charging, although dashboards show 100 percent. This is due to a lower battery maximum capacity than the one shown on the dashboard.

In addition, data from the South Korea National Fire Department shows that only 26 out of 139 cases of electric car fires occurred during charging. Most cases of fires occur when the car is being driven or parked.

The rules for limiting battery charging have angered electric car owners. They argue that this rule violates private property rights and reduces maximum travel distance that can be achieved by one charge.

The South Korean government is preparing a series of stricter guidelines to improve the safety of electric cars. However, the rules on limiting battery charging remain one of the steps considered.