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Hyundai Motor Company's electric car Kona, which has recently been fired, was eventually recalled.

The cause of the fire is presumed to be a defective battery cell, and LG Chem, who made and delivered the battery, refuted.



Reporter Lee Seong-hoon reports.



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Black smoke rises from the Kona electric car in the underground parking lot.



In an instant, the smoke fills up and fires rise.




In Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, a parked Kona vehicle caught fire and burned down.



Since the launch of Kona in 2018, there have been 12 fires, including 10 domestic and 2 overseas.



Two cars burned down in Sejong and Gangneung City were identified by Gugwa Tree, and the results were found to be presumed to be ignited by electrical factors inside the battery pack assembly.




As the anxiety of car owners spread, Hyundai Motor Company announced its intention to voluntarily recall the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.



There are 25,564 vehicles manufactured from September 2017 to March this year, and the battery will be replaced after software updates and maintenance.



The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport revealed that there is a possibility that an internal short circuit may occur as the separator between the positive and negative plates of the battery cells is damaged due to poor quality during the manufacturing process.



However, this recall does not come under a situation where the cause of the fire is fully identified.



The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is also planning to conduct further investigations to verify the cause of the defect presented by Hyundai Motor Company.



LG Chem, which supplies batteries to Kona, refuted that "the exact cause has not been identified, and it cannot be said that the battery is defective."



The battery cells of LG Chem, the battery management system of Hyundai Motors, and the cooling system of Hyundai Mobis are included in Kona, so it is expected that the responsible battle between companies will continue over the cause of fire.



(Video editing: Park Ki-duk)