[Courtesy of Volkswagen]
The head of Volkswagen AG and Audi AG's local unit faces a criminal probe by South Korean prosecutors Tuesday for balking at recalling diesel vehicles equipped with emissions-cheating devices, environment ministry officials said.
The German auto giant has been under a flurry of legal actions in South Korea and other countries after it admitted in September to falsifying U.S. emissions tests on some of its diesel cars.
In November, South Korea's environment ministry ordered Audi Volkswagen Korea to recall more than 125,000 diesel-powered cars and fined it 14.1 billion won ($12.3 million).
The German car maker was ordered to submit detailed recall plans by January 6, but its proposal presented so far did not include concrete plans about how to improve emissions results and maintain fuel efficiency, the ministry said.
So the ministry took action, calling on prosecutors to investigate Volkswagen Korea head Johannes Thammer.
Violators of South Korea's environmental law could receive a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to 30 million won.
German cars have been popular in South Korea with Volkswagen and Audi topping the list of imported cars.
Charles Lim
아주경제 임장원 기자 = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
