South Korea has announced plans to strengthen safety requirements for Lithium-Ion batteries after fires caused by the Samsung Galaxy Note 7.
The decision, made by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, would mean that manufacturers of the batteries would be subject to higher scrutiny and more safety inspections.
In a statement Vice Minister Jeong Marn-ki said: “We ask that the industry shares the view that making efforts to ensure safety is equally as critical as developing new products through technological innovation.”
Samsung was forced to recall it’s flagship phone line in October last year amid safety concerns regarding overheating batteries, and in some cases combustion. The $900 smartphones were completely recalled and cost the company an estimated $5.4 billion in projected profits.
The government has said it will monitor Samsung’s progress and insisted on measures such as x-ray tests to ensure the safety of the devices in future.
Read now: Galaxy Note 7: What we dsicovered
During a press conference in January, Samsung revealed that the company and external testers had been conducting a month long probe into the devices software, hardware and batteries which ultimately lead them to conclude that the fault lay with the phones lithium-ion battery, designed in such a way that would cause it to overheat.
The Trade Ministry also said that Korea Testing Lab found no other possible cause for the Galaxy Note Fires
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After news of the malfunctions broke last year, Samsung issued a full product recall and eventually halted production of the mobile device.
The company has also explained that they would accept full responsibility and not look for any recompense from the battery suppliers, Samsung SDI Co Ltd and Amperex Technology, stating that: “Consumers will accept the results, only if there are no problems with the S8.”
Samsung is expected to release the Galaxy S8 later this year.
