Anchor: Amid a spate of reports of BMW vehicles catching fire in South Korea and criticism of the German automaker's recall system, the government is mulling introducing punitive damages against car manufacturers.
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.

Report: The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to decide within this month how to revise related laws to adopt a punitive damages system against automakers.

The decision comes in the wake of BMW's recall of some 106-thousand vehicles with defective engine components, which some criticized for coming too late. 

An official at the ministry said Tuesday that comprehensive ways to improve the current auto recall system are under consideration, including implementation of punitive damages.

Punitive damages, also known as exemplary damages, are awarded to a plaintiff in excess of actual compensatory damages in order to punish the defendant for a reckless or willful act.

While the current product liability act contains a clause on punitive damages, it only pertains to serious physical injury, and does not apply to cases involving property damage.

Efforts to revise related laws are expected to gain speed as the parliament is also seeking to introduce the punitive damages system.

The Transport Ministry also plans to tighten standards on recall documents submitted by auto firms and slap them with fines if they are found to have presented false documents.

The ministry will prepare legal grounds to impose a penalty of up to one percent of sales if auto companies delay recalls, or hide or scale down defects in their vehicles.

Meanwhile, the number of inspectors at the Korea Automobile Testing and Research Institute will be increased and they will be granted authority to secure vehicles from accident sites to examine them for defects.
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.