A person walks past a row of electric kickboards, also known as electric scooters, parked on a Seoul street in this May 22, 2023 file photo. Batteries used for electric kickboards caused 467 fires that occurred between 2019 and 2023, according to the National Fire Agency on Wednesday. Newsis

Batteries used for electric kickboards, also known as electric scooters, caused 467 fires that occurred between 2019 and 2023, according to the National Fire Agency on Wednesday.

The agency's data shows that four people were killed and 64 others injured nationwide due to the battery-caused incidents. Last year alone, such batteries were the source of 114 fires that killed two people and injured 28 others, compared with just 46 cases in 2019.

More than 57 percent of the fires started when the battery (or batteries) were being charged, possibly as a result of overheating due to the high electric current.

Such fires happened most frequently during summer (June-August) with 175 cases, followed by fall (118), spring (99) and winter (75).

The agency didn't specify the types of battery that caused the fires but lithium-ion batteries are the most common type used in electric kickboards and electric bicycles.

As such devices continue to grow in number around the country, so too have concerns over the safety of their batteries.

In one of the most recent battery-caused fires, a warehouse filled with packaged goods was destroyed in Cheongyang County, South Chungcheong Province, last month.