▶주메뉴 바로가기

▶본문 바로가기

The Korea Herald
검색폼

THE INVESTOR
March 29, 2024

Automobiles

Nissan Korea chief steps down after emissions scandal

  • PUBLISHED :December 26, 2016 - 18:22
  • UPDATED :December 26, 2016 - 18:22
  • 폰트작게
  • 폰트크게
  • facebook
  • sms
  • print

[THE INVESTOR] Nissan Korea President Takehiko Kikuchi resigned last week, in a move seen to take responsibility over the Japanese automaker’s emission-rigging scandal.

Kikuchi declared his intention to step down to the Nissan Japanese headquarters, citing personal reasons, according to Nissan Korea on Dec. 26. The automaker approved his departure and has started searching for a successor. 




Industry watchers say Kikuchi’s departure comes as a result of his management failure, leading to the automaker’s emissions-rigging scandal.

Kikuchi is a Nissan veteran who began working for the automaker in 1991. He took the helm of the Korean unit in 2013, after working at the Chinese and Indian units. Under his tenure, the Japanese automaker grew significantly here, with increasing sales -- from 4,177 in the initial year to 8,711 the following year.

In May, the Ministry of Environment slapped 340 million won (USD$282,971) in fines and banned sales of Qashqai crossover after the automaker allegedly manipulated emissions results.

In November, the ministry found that Nissan’s luxury brand Inifiniti’s Q50 also circumvented emissions result, during the all-out inspection launched by the authorities in the aftermath of the Volkswagen scandal. 

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)

EDITOR'S PICKS