Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo District announced on April 4 that they are launching a project to enhance the safety of electric vehicle charging facilities by relocating those installed in underground parking lots to above ground and by installing safety devices.
This project comes amidst growing social concerns regarding electric vehicle fires, and aims to reduce the risk of damage caused by limited access and difficulty in initial fire response in underground parking lots. The district plans to either relocate the chargers above ground or, if relocation is not feasible, support the installation of thermal cameras and fire extinguishers to create a fire-prevention environment.
The support is available to public facilities that have met the obligation to install electric vehicle charging facilities for parking lots with 50 or more spaces, including first and second class neighborhood living facilities, medical facilities, educational research facilities, and office facilities. Up to 30 million KRW per facility can be supported within a maximum of 50% of the project costs.
Applicants can choose between support for the cost of relocating the charging facilities to above ground or the cost of installing safety facilities. Applications are open until April 30, and the management authority of the respective facility must apply directly in person or by mail to the Environmental Division of the District Office. Application forms can be downloaded from the ‘Notices’ section on the Yeongdeungpo District Office’s website.
Submitted applications will undergo site inspections and evaluations by a review committee to select the final recipients. Subsequently, the district will conduct an annual inspection of maintenance conditions to continuously ensure a safe usage environment.
Last year, Yeongdeungpo District also conducted a fire safety survey for charging facilities at 47 public parking lots and made efforts to manage charging safety, such as installing 51 fire extinguishers with approval from the Korea Fire Institute.
Choi Ho-gwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo District, stated, “This project is designed to mitigate the fire risk of underground charging facilities and create a safe electric vehicle usage environment. We hope for a lot of interest and participation.”
