"‘Why Only Me...’ The Heartbreaking Electric Car"

Summary

▶ Conflicts have arisen among residents as some apartment complexes ban parking of electric vehicles in underground parking lots due to fire safety concerns.

▶ Although the fire incidence rate of electric vehicles is low, the difficulty in extinguishing battery fires leads to significant damage, which is pointed out as a problem.

▶ There is controversy that the ban on electric vehicle parking may infringe on basic rights, and opinions suggest the need for government-level efforts to resolve the conflict.

Fire Concerns and Ban on Underground Parking

As electric vehicle fire incidents have occurred repeatedly recently, anxiety about electric vehicles has spread, leading some apartment complexes to ban electric vehicles from parking in underground parking lots, causing conflicts among residents. While some view this as a measure prioritizing residents' safety, others criticize it as an infringement on electric vehicle owners' basic rights.

A banner prohibiting access to the underground parking lot for external electric vehicles is hung at an apartment in Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 14th, an apartment complex in Jecheon, Chungbuk, decided through the residents' representative meeting to close electric vehicle charging facilities in the underground parking lot and allow electric vehicle parking only in the above-ground parking lot. The residents' representative meeting explained that this was a preemptive measure considering the serious damage that electric vehicle fires could cause. However, electric vehicle owners have expressed dissatisfaction, claiming it infringes on their rights.

Controversy Over Electric Vehicle Fire Risks

Currently, there is no objective indicator that electric vehicles are more prone to fires than internal combustion engine vehicles. According to the Fire Agency’s “Fire Status by Vehicle Fuel Type,” the fire incidence rate of electric vehicles is not significantly different from or is even lower than that of internal combustion engine vehicles. Based on the cumulative registered number as of the end of last year, the fire incidence rates were diesel vehicles (0.015%), electric vehicles (0.013%), gasoline vehicles (0.006%), and hybrid vehicles (0.002%), respectively.

However, experts point out that even if the frequency of electric vehicle fires is not high, the characteristics of electric vehicle batteries make extinguishing fires difficult, potentially leading to large-scale damage.

Professor Kim Pil-su of Daelim University’s Department of Automotive Studies emphasized, “When a fire occurs in an electric vehicle battery, the internal temperature rises up to 1000 degrees Celsius, and the combustion spreads, making it take much longer to extinguish than internal combustion engine vehicles.” There are also concerns that fires occurring in underground parking lots could cause greater property damage due to difficulties in ventilation and firefighting.

Legal Controversies and Basic Rights Infringement Issues

There is legal controversy that the complete ban on electric vehicle parking in underground parking lots may infringe on the basic rights of electric vehicle owners.

Attorney Cho Won-ik (39, 3rd Bar Exam) of Law Firm Logos stated, “Even though residents using electric vehicles pay corresponding management fees, restricting their use of underground parking lots could be seen as an infringement of property rights guaranteed by the Constitution,” and argued, “For such measures to be legitimate, the opinions of electric vehicle users must be reflected.”

Attorney Lee Seung-tae (56, 30th Judicial Research and Training Institute) and representative lawyer of Law Firm City and People said, “Owners of each unit in multi-family housing basically have the right to freely use their exclusive portions within the shared areas of the apartment,” and added, “Banning parking without alternatives infringes on the rights of unit owners.”

Legitimacy of Residents' Representative Meeting and Legal Issues

Whether procedural legitimacy was observed in the decision-making process of the residents' representative meeting can also be an important issue. While the residents' representative meeting has the authority to manage and operate common facilities of the apartment, lack of procedural legitimacy in the decision-making process could lead to legal disputes.

Earlier this year, a court accepted a provisional injunction request filed by a resident against parking regulations that restricted parking for units that did not bear remodeling parking purchase costs. The court ruled, “The parking regulation is ineffective as it was not approved by the residents” (2023KaHap50461).

Need for Government-Level Efforts to Resolve Conflicts

As electric vehicle use is encouraged at the government policy level, opinions suggest that government-level efforts are also necessary to resolve conflicts within multi-family housing. Professor Kim Yong-seop (65, 16th Bar Exam) of Jeonbuk National University Law School proposed, “It could be a solution for local governments to discuss measures such as installing safety facilities in parking lots.”

Yoo Ji-in, Legal News Reporter

※This article is based on content supplied by Law Times.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.