Ruling party vows legal action on BMW fires and consumer safety
- 6 years ago
당정, 'BMW화재' 계기 징벌적 손배 강화ㆍ과징금 부과근거 추진
With dozens of late-model BMWs catching fire recently in Korea, lawmakers called in the chair of ther german car giant's local unit for an emergency meeting.
The ruling party vowed to quickly provide legal solutions to the matter.
Kim Mok-yeon gets us up to speed with the developments.
Ruling party lawmakers on the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure & Transport Committee held an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the string of fires involving local BMW sedans.
In the hot seat was the chairman of BMW Korea, Kim Hyo-joon.
As the meeting kicked off, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, Hong Young-pyo, pointed out the seriousness of the issue and promised that the ruling party will work to tackle the problem.
"The BMW problem has highlighted the need for a change in the current legal system, especially when it comes to products directly linked to safety.
We will try our best to improve the system in the September regular session."
The committee's number two, Youn Kwan-suk , said they would come up with preventation and compensation measures that can reduce public anxiety and ensure safety on the road.
"We will come up with constructive remedies such as strengthening the system for punitive damages against manufacturers that deliberately fail to take action against defects. We will also provide legal grounds to ban the driving of problematic vehicles."
Korea's vice transport minister, Kim Jeong-ryeol, also pledged to do everything possible in the on-going investigation and to cooperate with the justice ministry and local governments to improve the current system.
In response, BMW Korea Chairman Kim Hyo-joon apologized for the problems caused by the German automaker and promised to comply with the government and the legislature to find the cause of the fires.
"We will not leave any room for unanswered questions in the investigation. We will do our best to finish the recall process as soon as possible and not cause any more concern regarding the public's safety."
Kim Mok-yeon, Arirang News.
With dozens of late-model BMWs catching fire recently in Korea, lawmakers called in the chair of ther german car giant's local unit for an emergency meeting.
The ruling party vowed to quickly provide legal solutions to the matter.
Kim Mok-yeon gets us up to speed with the developments.
Ruling party lawmakers on the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure & Transport Committee held an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the string of fires involving local BMW sedans.
In the hot seat was the chairman of BMW Korea, Kim Hyo-joon.
As the meeting kicked off, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, Hong Young-pyo, pointed out the seriousness of the issue and promised that the ruling party will work to tackle the problem.
"The BMW problem has highlighted the need for a change in the current legal system, especially when it comes to products directly linked to safety.
We will try our best to improve the system in the September regular session."
The committee's number two, Youn Kwan-suk , said they would come up with preventation and compensation measures that can reduce public anxiety and ensure safety on the road.
"We will come up with constructive remedies such as strengthening the system for punitive damages against manufacturers that deliberately fail to take action against defects. We will also provide legal grounds to ban the driving of problematic vehicles."
Korea's vice transport minister, Kim Jeong-ryeol, also pledged to do everything possible in the on-going investigation and to cooperate with the justice ministry and local governments to improve the current system.
In response, BMW Korea Chairman Kim Hyo-joon apologized for the problems caused by the German automaker and promised to comply with the government and the legislature to find the cause of the fires.
"We will not leave any room for unanswered questions in the investigation. We will do our best to finish the recall process as soon as possible and not cause any more concern regarding the public's safety."
Kim Mok-yeon, Arirang News.