The government says it will consider temporarily banning some BMW cars from running on the country’s roads following multiple reports of the vehicles catching fire.   

Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mee revealed the plan on Wednesday at an emergency media conference.

Kim said the government is mulling a driving ban on BMW cars that are subject to the compulsory safety inspection but have yet to undergo it as well as BMW vehicles found through the inspection to potentially pose a risk. 

The minister said she is well aware of the inconvenience caused to local owners of the BMW cars subject to the German carmaker's voluntary recall measures. 

However, she stressed the importance of such steps, pointing out that if their cars catch fire inside a tunnel, at a gas station or a parking lot, it could lead to a major accident. 

She urged the owners of the BMW sedans subject to the emergency safety checkup to take the test by next Tuesday and refrain from driving their cars before then. 

The ministry also plans to have BMW Korea take more recall measures if additional problems are found with its vehicles sold locally.