[Anchor]
It was revealed two years ago that Mercedes-Benz Korea had been using Chinese-made batteries in its vehicles that had previously been recalled due to fire risks. The fact was not disclosed by Mercedes at the time, but only came to light after a massive fire broke out in the underground parking lot of an apartment complex in Incheon. Consequently, a decision has been issued holding the company responsible for misrepresenting battery information and ordering it to compensate consumers 4 million won per person.
Reporter Jung Hye-jin has the details.
[Reporter]
An underground parking lot in an Incheon apartment complex two years ago.
Smoke starts billowing from a vehicle, followed by an explosion and a fire.
The blaze left around 950 vehicles burned or scorched.
The vehicle that caught fire at the time was a Mercedes EQE 350+ electric vehicle that was being charged.
Owners of Mercedes electric vehicles had to endure anxiety over potential explosions and cold stares from people around them.
[Mercedes EV Owner: What if an explosion suddenly happens while it's parked? When parking, I always park far away from other vehicles....]
Mercedes had initially promoted its vehicles as being equipped with products from CATL, the world's top electric vehicle battery maker.
However, investigations revealed that the company used batteries from Farasis, a Chinese firm with a history of recalls due to fire risks, across five different models without informing consumers.
[Hwang Won-chul / Standing Commissioner, Korea Fair Trade Commission (March): (We determined that) deceiving consumers into mistakenly believing their product was significantly superior to what it actually was constitutes "unfair customer inducement by fraudulent means."]
After being fined approximately 11.2 billion won by the Korea Fair Trade Commission in March, the Korea Consumer Agency's Consumer Dispute Mediation Committee also ruled today (Nov. 4) that Mercedes must compensate consumers.
The committee decided that Mercedes must pay 4 million won per person—equivalent to 4 percent of the vehicle's price—to the 142 owners who filed for class-action dispute mediation, totaling around 560 million won.
As Mercedes-Benz Korea previously expressed dissatisfaction with the FTC's decision, the matter may lead to a legal battle.
(Video Editing: Yoon Tae-ho)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.