A total of five electric vehicle fire accidents have occurred in South Korea over the past five years. All three fire accidents that occurred this year took place at Hyundai Motor's "Kona Electric."
According to the data Rep. Hong Chul-ho of the Liberty Korea Party recently received from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, there have been five electric car fires in Korea over the past five years: Hyundai Motor's "Ioniq" and "Kona" and Renault Samsung's "SM3Z.E."
Among them, the first three fires at Hyundai's Kona electric vehicle this year are believed to have been caused by the explosion of a high-voltage battery at the bottom of the vehicle, according to a survey by a professional agency.
In August, a "Kona Electric" vehicle that was being charged was burned down in an underground parking lot of an apartment building in Sejong City. "It is believed to be a fire caused by an explosion of a high-voltage battery at the bottom of the vehicle, and we need to check further on the specific cause of the battery explosion," a member of the investigation team said.
The Kona electric vehicle fire in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, in the same month is also believed to have been caused by a high-voltage battery explosion at the bottom of the vehicle. In July, a Kona electric car caught fire while being charged in Gangneung City.
In August last year, a fire on Hyundai Motor's Ioniq electric car in Daegu occurred in the lower part of the battery in the vehicle's trunk during a stop.
