A Volkswagen Korea executive held in custody for the first time

Mr. Yoon, 52, an executive at Volkswagen Korea in charge of certification, has been arrested on Friday for allegedly having been involved in the Volkswagen scandal. He is the first Volkswagen executive who has been imprisoned since prosecutors started the probe into the allegation on the defeat device.

Cho Eui-yeon, a judge of the Seoul Central District Court responsible for the case, issued an arrest warrant for him, saying, “His crime has been verified, and the cause and the need for the warrant are recognized.”

According to the prosecution, from August 2010 to February last year, Mr. Yoon was allegedly involved in the process that Volkswagen manipulated and submitted some 49 test documents on emission gases and noises and some 90 test documents on fuel mileages to get certificates issued for the import of its vehicles. In addition, he allegedly fiddled software of electronic control system to get certificates issued without disclosing such fact in order to get re-certification of Golf 1.4 TSI, a model that failed to pass gas emission standards in July 2014.

He is said to have stated to prosecutors twice since June 13 that Volkswagen's headquarters in Germany instructed him to manipulate the software of the Golf model and proceed with the sale.

신나리기자 journari@donga.com