[Column] 'Electric Cars in Mountainous Areas?' Complaints Directed at the Ministry of Environment

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] "Jeongseon-gun has only 13 electric vehicle fast chargers across its 9 eup and myeon. There are no hydrogen charging stations at all. Moreover, since it is a mountainous area with heavy snowfall, it is difficult to travel for business trips using passenger cars instead of four-wheel-drive sport utility vehicles (SUVs)." (A representative from Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon)

On the 11th, when the Ministry of Environment decided to impose fines on a total of 120 entities, including 75 local governments and 45 public institutions that failed to achieve the mandatory purchase rate of zero-emission vehicles (100%), complaints erupted from various places. They say the government does not understand the unavoidable circumstances of not being able to increase zero-emission vehicles due to the characteristics of the regions and institutions and the lack of charging infrastructure.

The Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service must pay fines again in 2020 for failing to meet the mandatory purchase rate of eco-friendly vehicles, as in 2019. The fines are 1 million won for the first violation, 2 million won for the second, and 3 million won for the third. A representative of the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service lamented, "There are many branches and hospitals in rural areas, but charging stations are insufficient, and SUVs are needed for rough terrain. Moreover, even with subsidies, the purchase cost of eco-friendly vehicles is relatively high, so there are budgetary limitations."

Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) failed to meet the mandatory purchase rate due to sudden regulation changes. According to the Special Act on Metropolitan Air Quality Improvement, Type 1 vehicles (electric and hydrogen cars) were applied a conversion score of 1.5 points, but under the Air Environment Conservation Act enforced in April last year, the score for Type 1 passenger cars was lowered to 1.0 point. Instead, the score for non-passenger eco-friendly vehicles such as buses was raised to 1.7 points. KEPCO had planned its annual vehicle replacement based on the previous scoring system until January last year and considered it manageable, but with the regulation change, it ultimately failed to meet the target. As a result, it is now in a situation where it must pay fines.

The policy intention for the public sector to lead the spread of electric and hydrogen vehicles is positive. However, applying a uniform standard without considering the circumstances of local governments and public institutions is problematic. The saying "the devil is in the details" once again proved true in this case.