[THE INVESTOR] The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, a state watchdog, has launched an investigation to find the exact cause of the fire and explosion of Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note 7, according to industry sources.

It is expected that it will take at least three months to wrap up the investigation as the fire and explosion cases could have been caused by multiple factors.

A total of 10 members from business, academic and research sectors will serve as an advisory group.

The advisory group will carry out an extensive inspection as their probe will not be limited to the battery, which was initially thought to be the cause of the fire, but will also cover other parts.



The advisory group will look into the results of Samsung’s own investigation of the overheating and combustion of the Note 7 first and then request Korea Testing Laboratory, a state-run test lab, for a series of safety tests, which will include destructive and non-destructive tests, CT scanning, and testing on application processors and electronic circuits.

The KTL has reportedly received five Note 7 units that caught fire in Korea from the tech giant.

As the advisory group will investigate only the fire and explosion cases that have taken place in the domestic market, the investigation results are likely have limits in explaining about the overheating and fire that have stirred controversy around the globe.

An official from the Korean watchdog was quoted by news media as saying, “There is now no plan to collaborate with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, which has wrapped up its own investigation of the Note 7 fire cases. The KATS has decided to conduct its investigation on the cases that have occurred in Korea.”

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.cop)