April 26, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Audi Volkswagen Korea has filed complaints against the South Korea’s antitrust agency that penalized the local unit of the German automaker with a fine of 37.3 billion won (US$32.70 million) for false advertising on vehicle emissions. 

The complaints were filed with the Seoul Central District Court on Feb. 23, requesting the court to stop the Korea Fair Trade Commission from imposing a hefty fine and corrective measures on the automaker, calling it “unfair,” the court confirmed on March 1. 

The automaker filed the suit on the day of the deadline. It was given 30 days to decide on the legal measures since the FTC sent in the written order on Jan. 23. 

Last December, Audi Volkswagen Korea was slapped with a 37.3 billion won fine, the largest the regulator has ever imposed on companies for false advertisement. According to the FTC, the automaker misled the consumers by marketing its diesel cars were eco-friendly and energy efficient, which were later revealed to be all false when Audi Volkswagen Korea manipulated software of the vehicles to cheat on emissions tests. 

Last August, the South Korean government ordered the automaker to halt sales of 80 models of Audi, Volkswagen and Bentley vehicles for cheating on emissions and noise level test, with a fine of 17.8 billion won. 

Separately, US chipmaker Qualcomm also filed complaints against the FTC that slapped the largest-ever fine of 1.03 trillion won for breaching the nation’s competition laws.

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