South Korea Ponders Criminal Charges Against VW Execs
South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission says it may file criminal charges against Volkswagen AG executives in the country for falsely claiming that hundreds of thousands of cars VW sold there meet Euro 5 emission standards.
#legal
South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission says it may file criminal charges against Volkswagen AG executives in the country for falsely claiming that hundreds of thousands of cars VW sold there meet Euro 5 emission standards.
The commission says it advised VW of the possible action after a hearing with company officials to explain themselves, The Wall Street Journal reports. The agency says it has given VW five weeks to clarify its position. The commission will then hold a meeting to finalize its next steps, which may include fines against the company.
Last week prosecutors indicted a VW executive identified only as Mr.Yoon on charges of falsifying emission and noise test data for cars shipped to Korea. Officials said they plan to question more VW executives, including Johannes Thammer, who heads Audi Volkswagen Korea Co.
In November Korea ordered VW to recall 125,000 diesel-powered cars in the country that were among 11 million the carmaker admits equipping with software to cheat emission tests.
RELATED CONTENT
-
Former VW Exec Schmidt Gets Maximum Sentence in Diesel Scandal
Oliver Schmidt—the former Volkswagen AG executive who pleaded guilty in August to lying about VW’s diesel pollution cheating—has received the maximum sentence of seven years in prison and a $400,000 fine.
-
U.S. Justice Dept. Asks VW to Delay Diesel Cheating Report
The U.S. Dept. of Justice has asked Volkswagen AG not to release findings of an independent probe into the German carmaker's diesel emission cheating scandal.
-
U.S. Court Filing Claims Bosch Aided VW Diesel Cheating
Germany’s Robert Bosch GmbH actively aided Volkswagen AG’s efforts to cheat emission tests, according to a new court filing in the U.S.