<Anchor> This is a



friendly economic time. Today (3rd) I will be with reporter Kim Hye-min. Looking at these days, it is very difficult in the field because there are no elements that go into diesel vehicles. I've seen articles like this a lot, but I'm a little unfamiliar with this number of elements. What is this?



<Reporter>



My car is gasoline, so I have never added 'urea water', but it is a must for drivers who drive diesel vehicles.



It plays a role in reducing the exhaust gas of a diesel car. As you can see in the picture you see now, a carcinogen called 'nitrogen oxide' is emitted from a diesel engine, and urea water converts this into clean 'water and nitrogen'.



Diesel vehicles sold since January 2015 must be equipped with an exhaust gas reduction device using urea water.



So now, a significant number of diesel vehicles have to periodically add urea water. Also, if it is not inserted in time, the engine does not start or the output is lowered, making it difficult to drive normally.



However, the price of this urea number has suddenly skyrocketed recently, and there is a situation where it is impossible to buy it at all at gas stations.



<Anchor>



How much did the price go up, then?



<Reporter>



Urea water was originally expensive at around 10,000 won per 10 liters, but when I went into the used trading app yesterday, it was sold for 100,000 won, 10 times that.



The number of elements offered for less than 100,000 won had already been sold or had been reserved. There were some elements that came out at 110,000 won, or even 140,000 won.



Direct sellers tend to have lower prices. However, it takes at least two weeks for it to be imported. We are announcing this.



Diesel cars can travel more than 10,000 km by adding 10 liters of urea water, but large trucks can only travel 400 km at most with 10 liters.



So, it is a situation where you have to fill in the number of elements once every few days. The oil industry said, "If this continues, the number of urea is expected to be mostly frozen by the end of this month."



This means that from next month, the worst logistics crisis in the domestic freight transportation market may actually stop.



At industrial sites, freight vehicles transporting raw materials and products are tied up. Even delivery vehicles contain urea water. Consumers are also concerned that they will experience great inconvenience.



<Anchor>



This is not a simple matter to look at. But what I'm curious about is how many elements have been used so far. But why did the price suddenly go up like this?



<Reporter>



97% of the elements used in Korea come from China. China was highly dependent on that, and recently, China suddenly made it mandatory to inspect urea water before exporting it.



So, imports are not being made in Korea on time, and the reason is that I talked about it once in a friendly economy a while ago.



China has banned Australian coal imports. Due to the shortage of coal, coal power plants cannot generate electricity and factories are shutting down one after another.



However, this situation unexpectedly affected the number of elements. Urea water is produced by extracting ammonia from coal.



Since there is no coal in China, there is also a natural shortage of urea, so it seems that China has been blocking urea exports since the middle of last month.



Other countries such as Indonesia and Russia, which produce urea water, are also not in a situation where they can receive orders even if they are ordered now.



In addition, in Korea, the shortage is getting more serious as some traders stock up and sell them at a higher price.



<Anchor> That's



right. Then, it seems that it is not possible to secure more urea water quantity right now, but the government announced a related policy yesterday.



<Reporter>



Relevant ministries held a meeting yesterday and came up with measures. Through various diplomatic channels, it is said that the Chinese side is requesting a speedy inspection process, and they are also considering importing urea water from other countries, such as Russia.



Some have said that hoarding is happening. We have come up with a plan to prevent unfair trade practices and have decided to respond jointly with the industry.



It is fortunate that the government is moving now, but in fact, it has already been over a fortnight since the Chinese government blocked the export of urea water.



From then on, the price of urea water began to rise or become difficult to obtain.

If there is a real cargo crisis next month, it seems difficult for the government to avoid accusations of late response.