The Ministry of Environment has caught companies and individuals illegally manufacturing and distributing unapproved automotive exhaust gas reduction devices.
The Ministry of Environment said on the 19th that it referred nine companies and 16 individuals to prosecutors on charges of violating the Air Quality Conservation Act. The ministry explained, "We cannot disclose the names of the companies as we are unable to reveal the facts of the case before prosecution."
This detection is the first nationwide planned investigation conducted after legal grounds were established last year to prohibit the manufacture, sale, import, and storage of unapproved reduction devices.
Special police officers from the Ministry of Environment detected signs of the spread of illegal reduction device installations nationwide since the latter half of last year and initiated a planned investigation. This investigation was led by a central environmental enforcement team formed jointly by the Ministry of Environment's Environmental Investigation Office, the Transportation Environment Division, the local environmental agency, and the Korea Automobile Environment Association. In March of this year, warrants were executed to raid and uncover specific criminal activities at some companies.
A total of over 24,000 illegal reduction devices were detected this time, amounting to a market value of 3.3 billion won. Some products were sold online disguised as genuine or refurbished products. Cases were also confirmed where products from overseas online stores were distributed domestically without certification.
According to the Ministry of Environment, several companies imported unapproved reduction devices for gasoline and gas vehicles, such as three-way catalytic converters, and for diesel vehicles, such as diesel particulate filters, from abroad and sold them in the market. Other companies purchased core components of three-way catalytic converters and diesel particulate filters, illegally manufactured devices on their own, and distributed them.
Such unapproved reduction devices lack or have insufficient catalyst components to convert exhaust gases into harmless materials compared to certified products. As a result, the efficiency of pollutant reduction is low, or it exceeds the permitted emission standards.
Kim Jae-hyun, head of the Environmental Investigation Office at the Ministry of Environment, noted, "Exhaust gas reduction devices are essential devices directly related to preventing air pollution and protecting public health," and stated, "We will strengthen related investigations to eradicate the discharge of pollutants that cause environmental harm."