Mercedes-Benz EV fire victims say company’s relief support pledge ‘absurdly insufficient’

Victims of a massive South Korean apartment complex fire that began from a Mercedes-Benz electric vehicle (EV) earlier this month have expressed discontent over the German automaker’s initial relief support pledge, claiming the promised amount is “absurdly insufficient” when compared with the actual total damage, sources said Friday.

Last week, Mercedes-Benz Korea Ltd. offered to donate 4.5 billion won (US$3.3 million) as part of relief support for victims of the apartment complex in Incheon, 27 kilometers west of Seoul, where a fire that started from a Mercedes-Benz EV destroyed over 100 cars.

On Wednesday, Mathias Vaitl, CEO and president of Mercedes-Benz Korea, met with residents of the affected apartment in Incheon. At the meeting Vaitl said the company will consider offering additional support if the residents deem the amount as being insufficient.

The closed-door meeting held at a nearby church, attended by around 150 residents, was initially scheduled to take place for about 90 minutes but ended up lasting approximately three hours.

According to sources, residents in general expressed frustration over Vaitl’s belated appearance in front of the residents. The CEO was in Germany for over 10 days after the accident and showed up in Incheon 13 days after the EV fire incident.

“The residents collectively expressed that the 4.5 billion-won offer was insufficient,” a participant at the meeting told Yonhap News Agency over the phone.

The resident said Vaitl advised the residents to “use the funds urgently to address the most immediate recovery needs.”

The person recollected Vaitl as starting the meeting by saying “Hello” in Korean. Soon after, residents criticized the CEO, saying that he should have started by saying “I’m sorry,” the person said.

The person also said Vaitl showed up about 15 minutes late to the meeting, which, in and of itself, fueled anger among the residents.

According to another person at the meeting, residents pointed out “in anger how a single vehicle ended up damaging the livelihoods of 1,581 households.”

“One of the attendants raised concerns about secondary effects from the dust caused by the fire, noting that children are experiencing sore throats and local residents are suffering from headaches,” the person said.

Another person raised the issue regarding how different owners of over 100 vehicles have different car insurance plans. The person said that while people with full insurance coverage may receive full reimbursement, those with weaker insurance products may end up having to accept their losses.

Another resident pointed out how 4.5 billion won, which may seem large, is actually “absurdly insufficient” when considering the totality of the situation at hand.

“We have 1,581 household units in our apartment complex. If you do the calculation, each household on average is subject to about 3 million won each from the relief support by Mercedes-Benz,” a resident said.

Rep. Lee Yong-woo of the main opposition Democratic Party, who also attended the meeting, argued Mercedes-Benz Korea must recognize its responsibility for the accident unless it can prove otherwise.

“The company should prepare comprehensive and timely measures without any limitations,” Lee said.

Lee also said the 4.5 billion-won relief support offered by Mercedes-Benz Korea is grossly inadequate considering the overall level of damage.

“The company should immediately reassess the support amount, taking into account the extent of the damages and the feedback from the residents,” the lawmaker said.

A Mercedes-Benz Korea media representative said the company internally wasn’t considering increasing its donation offer at the moment.

“At the time of the meeting, the CEO carefully listened to the concerns of the residents and mentioned that additional support would be considered if necessary,” the company official added.

The official added, “However, as this was discussed during the meeting, no specific plans have been discussed internally yet.”