<Anchor> The



shortage of urea, which is essential for the exhaust gas reduction system of diesel vehicles, is becoming more and more serious. Even diesel vehicles, such as fire trucks and ambulances, were facing difficulties due to a lack of urea, but the government is struggling to come up with countermeasures.



Reporter Jeon Yeon-nam reports.



<Reporter> The



fire departments in Seoul returned 150 liters of urea water to the Fire and Disaster Headquarters with only about one month of use left.



Of the 6,784 fire trucks nationwide, 80% use urea water.



The Fire and Disaster Headquarters also ordered non-mobile vehicles that use urea water to stop operating altogether.



[Kwon Ki-baek / Head of Equipment Management Team, Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters: It has been confirmed now that there is no abnormality until 4 or 5 months. We are considering assigning priority to departments related to public safety and safety... .] The



shortage of urea water is getting more and more serious.



The price jumps several times, and the quantity is not even available.



[Gas station official: There is no amount of urea water left at the gas station. None at all.]



[Consumer who purchases urea: I waited in line. As soon as the door opens, I just run and there are 30 to 40 people standing in line.] This is a



mart car supplies section.



The urea water stand is empty, and there is also a notice asking each person to purchase only one urea water due to insufficient supply.



The number of purchases of urea water products such as Chinese or Japanese products from overseas direct purchase sites has also increased significantly, but the Chinese authorities are not able to prevent even exporting of urea water overseas.



The government is cracking down on buying and selling of urea water, and at the same time, through diplomatic channels, has requested China to conduct pre-export inspection procedures early.



As vulnerabilities in the supply chain of various raw materials, including the number of urea, are revealed one after another, fundamental measures such as diversification of import sources are required.