Anchor: The government will ban the operation of recalled BMW vehicles that have not received safety inspections following a spate of reports of the German automaker’s cars catching fire. Around 20-thousand BMW car owners are expected to be subject to the driving ban, which is the first of its kind in the country. 
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.

Report: Some 20-thousand BMW cars that are subject to recall but have yet to undergo safety inspections will be banned from Korean roads as early as Thursday. 

Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mee on Tuesday called on the heads of cities, counties and districts to order the ban as local governments are authorized to suspend the use of defective vehicles.

It marks the first time such an order has been issued en masse in the country for a particular car model. 

[Sound bite: Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mee (Korean)]
“While there may be inconveniences, we urge owners of recalled BMW vehicles to actively cooperate to prevent more serious accidents."

Out of about 106-thousand-300 vehicles that have been recalled, some 27-thousand-200 units had still not been inspected as of Monday. 

Given that around seven-thousand to ten-thousand cars are being checked a day, approximately 20-thousand units are expected to be subject to the driving ban.

Drivers are expected to be notified of the ban by mail around Thursday. Once they receive the notice, car owners will only be allowed to drive to get to service centers for inspections and could be penalized otherwise.  

According to the National Fire Agency, some 80 BMW vehicles were reported to have caught fire this year alone and in more than 70 of the cases the fire was not caused by car accidents.
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.