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Diesel engine vehicles such as trucks require urea water. If this is not inserted in time, the truck may not start. However, it is said that it is not easy to obtain urea water in Korea these days due to China's export restrictions.



Correspondent Kim Jung-woo reported.



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A gas station in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul.



Recently, the number of truck drivers looking for the number of urea has surged and the stock has run out.



[Gas station staff: I want to sell, but I can't because I don't have anything. On the day that urea water was said to be a big problem, I used one or two a day, but 30



went

out that day.]

Urea water is a component that converts nitrogen oxides, a carcinogen from diesel engines, into clean water and nitrogen, which is mandatory for trucks and buses. It is a necessary product for the installed pollutant reduction device SCR.



If the urea water is not added in time, the engine does not start or the output is lowered, making it difficult to operate normally.



The urea water crisis occurred because China, which has supplied two-thirds of urea, a key raw material, has restricted urea exports since the middle of this month.



As imports of urea were canceled or delayed, and hoarding started, the price of urea water in Korea jumped nearly 50% in two weeks, and most of them are sold out at online shopping malls.



Unlike passenger cars, which replenish urea water every 15,000 to 20,000 km mileage, truck drivers who have to add urea water every 300 to 400 km are especially emergency.



[Truck driver: If you put 10 liters of a bottle, the commuter car takes about a week.

The longest distance from here is 400km, 800km round trip.

Then you need one bottle (10ℓ).]



Of the 3.3 million diesel trucks in Korea, about 2 million require urea, which could lead to a logistics crisis.



[Kim Pil-soo/Professor of Automobile Department at Daelim University: Because the negative effect increases, this does not change, so it is the most important part to secure a certain amount by increasing the inventory.] The



Ministry of Trade, Industry

and

Energy also started to understand the situation, but China was a factor. Supply and demand instability is expected to continue as the problem of shortage of coal is not easily resolved.



(Video coverage: Kim Heung-sik, video editing: Jo Moo-hwan)