SEVERE SHORTAGE OF UREA WATER SOLUTION

[Anchor Lead]

The shortage of urea water solution, which helps reduce emissions in diesel vehicles, could trigger a severe logistics crisis in Korea. The government plans to deploy military aircraft this week to import 20000 liters of urea from Australia. From Monday, crackdowns on those who stockpile urea will be launched.

[Pkg]

The government is scrambling to secure as much urea as possible. This week, military aircraft will be deployed to import 20,000 liters of the material used in Diesel Exhaust Fluid from Australia. Customs inspections process for urea used in vehicles will be cut drastically to 3-5 days. Although it's still far from the daily amount of urea needed in the nation, this year, the government plans to negotiate the import of thousands of tons of the material with countries producing it, such as Vietnam. South Korea has already signed a deal with China for importing tens of thousands of tons of urea, but the process has been stalled. Seoul plans to keep pushing Beijing to speed things up.

[Soundbite] Industry Insider(VOICE MODIFIED) : "Solving this issue with China is the most realistic solution. Many other countries are facing urea shortages now."

Authorities even consider using urea for industrial use in vehicles, but the final decision will be made after reviewing vehicle safety in mid-November. Currently there are three months' worth of urea for emergency vehicles. The government believes their operation will not be hampered. To solve urea shortages in the long term, the government plans to secure domestic urea production facilities and inspect the supply chains of other imported materials as well to prevent shortages in the future.

[Soundbite] Lee Kyung-ho(Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy) : "We need a more systematic pan-governmental response on items that Korea highly relies on imports from certain countries."

From Monday, crackdowns will be launched on those who stockpile on urea.