April 27, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Audi Volkswagen Korea, the local unit of the German auto giant, has been slapped with a record 37.3 billion won (US$31.90 million) fine for false advertisements of its cars with fabricated emissions results, the Fair Trade Commission said on Dec. 7.

The antitrust watchdog said it also plans to file criminal complaints against five incumbent and former executives at the company. 

Before its emissions-rigging scandal broke out globally in September last year, the Korean unit had run online and offline advertisements between 2008 and 2015, boasting its diesel-powered cars were meeting the tightened European emissions standards.

But the carmaker was found later to have used cheating software devices to fabricate the emissions tests. In Korea alone, the carmaker recalled some 125,000 cars of Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and Bentley brands, worth 4 trillion won.

“Audi Volkswagen Korea made false advertisements about its cars, claiming they meet the emissions requirements and have better gas mileage,” the FTC said.

The 37.3 billion won fine is the largest amount that the FTC has imposed for false advertising.

Earlier, the Korean government levied a sales ban on 80 vehicle models imported by Audi Volkswagen Korea, with a fine of 17.8 billion won, for cheating on local emissions tests.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)