Police to summon first owner of BMW vehicle that caught fire

  • 6 years ago
The owner of a BMW that burst into flames in South Korea will be summoned by police in the coming hours.
He will give formal testimony as the local authorities attempt to determine if the German automaker attempted to cover up knowledge of a serious defect with its vehicles.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
The owner of the very first BMW that caught fire in South Korea will be summoned by the Seoul Metropolitan Police on Monday,... to give formal testimony on the incident.
The move comes as local owners of the luxury German car brand have accused BMW of knowing about potentially dangerous defects,... and of hiding the information from the public.

"I'm going to firmly ask the police to investigate if there were other issues aside from the exhaust gas recirculation problem that BMW has already acknowledged."

A total of 21 BMW owners had filed a petition with the police as of last Thursday,... asking for a criminal investigation to be conducted on the matter.
Other BMW owners fear their car may also catch fire.

"It's tough to drive knowing that it could burst into flames at any time. I notice other cars don't want to park next to me, even though the engine is off."

With another BMW 520d model catching on fire on Sunday night,...
a total of 37 BMWs have gone up in flames in South Korea over the past few weeks.
Luckily, no one has been hurt.
South Korea's transport ministry says it's carrying out its own probe to determine if BMW intentionally put off the recall decision,... which would be a violation of local rules.
In addition,... lawmakers on the Land, Infrastructure & Transport Committee at the National Assembly will hold a meeting on Monday with BMW Korea Chairman Kim Hyo-joon,... and other executives,... to discuss countermeasures to the engine fires.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.

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