Court Rules to Cancel 32 Billion Won Fine for BMW Over "Unauthorized Parts Modification" Linked to Fires

Series of BMW Fires in April–May 2018

Yonhap News Agency

A court has ruled that a fine of over 32 billion won imposed by environmental authorities on BMW Korea for "unauthorized modification of parts," which came to light during the investigation into the series of BMW fires in 2018, should be canceled.

According to the legal community on March 16, the 14th Administrative Division of the Seoul Administrative Court (Presiding Judge Lee Sangdeok) ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by BMW Korea against the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment seeking to cancel the fine. As a result, BMW Korea will not have to pay the fine, which amounted to approximately 32.15 billion won.

The environmental authorities, while investigating the cause of the series of BMW fires in April and May 2018, identified that BMW had sold 23 vehicle models between 2014 and 2018 with "unauthorized modifications to parts related to the EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) cooler." On this basis, the authorities imposed the fine. They determined that even minor design changes to auxiliary components of the EGR cooler, such as pipes or brackets, could affect gas flow or heat transfer, potentially leading to component rupture and, ultimately, defects that increase the risk of fire.

The key issue in this trial was whether changing the specifications of so-called "auxiliary components"—such as brackets, hoses, and pipes connected to the EGR system cooler—constituted modifications requiring approval or reporting to the authorities.

The court found that the modifications in question were specifically excluded from certification requirements under the Clean Air Conservation Act. The enforcement regulations of the Act classify brackets, hoses, and pipes included in the EGR cooler as emission-related parts, but explicitly specify in the remarks section that "they are excluded from certification and change certification requirements."

The court also determined that there was insufficient objective evidence to support the authorities’ claim that the part modifications adversely affected the durability of the EGR cooler and could have caused the fires. The authorities failed to provide figures, calculation grounds, or measurement results showing that actions such as increasing the diameter of the pipe by 2mm caused meaningful changes in exhaust gas flow or cooling efficiency.

Even if there were a correlation between the part modifications and the fires, the court noted, such issues should be resolved through the defect correction (recall) system under the Automobile Management Act, rather than imposing separate sanctions for violating certification procedures under the Clean Air Conservation Act.

The court emphasized that laws forming the basis for restrictive administrative actions must be interpreted strictly. It stated that practical administrative needs cannot justify broadening or analogically interpreting the statutory language to the detriment of the party subject to the action.

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