About 180 cars affected after Busan gas station worker accidentally mixes gasoline with diesel
Depending on the extent of the damage, repair costs for affected vehicles are expected to range from roughly 1 million won ($743) to tens of millions of won.
A customer fills up their car at a gas station in southern Seoul on July 12.
NEWS1
A self-service gas station in Busan accidentally supplied fuel contaminated with diesel, affecting some 180 vehicles, local authorities said on Saturday.
An employee at a self-service station in Saha District, Busan, mistakenly poured diesel into a gas tank while transferring fuel at around 11 a.m. on Aug. 25, according to the district.
The worker’s error came to light the next day, after drivers who had filled up at the affected pump began experiencing problems with their vehicles and reported the issue to both the station and the Korea Petroleum Quality and Distribution Authority.
The station has confirmed that about 180 vehicles have been affected so far and promised to compensate their drivers.
“My car started making strange noises while I was driving, so I took it to a repair shop — that’s when I learned that fuel had been contaminated,” one affected driver said.
Depending on the extent of the damage, repair costs are expected to range from roughly 1 million won ($743) to tens of millions of won.
Saha District plans to issue administrative penalties against the station once the quality authority’s investigation is complete.
Under Korea’s Petroleum Business Act, selling petroleum products that fail to meet quality standards or those that fail quality inspections can result in administrative penalties. If the fuel is confirmed to be counterfeit, the station could face a three-month suspension of operations; if the fuel is found to be substandard but not counterfeit, the penalty — either a three-month suspension or a formal warning — will depend on whether the violation involved intent or gross negligence.
If the suspension is converted into a fine, the station could face a penalty of up to 100 million won for counterfeit fuel or up to 30 million won for substandard fuel.
“Once the results of the Korea Petroleum Quality and Distribution Authority’s investigation are out, we will issue administrative penalties in accordance with the relevant laws,” a Saha District official said. “We will also do our best to strengthen oversight of gas stations to prevent similar incidents from happening again.”
BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
