VW accepts all sanctions imposed by S. Korea

Audi Volkswagen Korea has decided to accept the sanctions imposed by the South Korean government and not to file an administrative complaint. The South Korean government suspended sales of multiple Volkswagen models and took a series of administrative actions on the German automaker as the company fabricated the certification document. Volkswagen has to pay a fine of 17.8 billion won (1.59 million U.S. dollars) by Sept. 15.

Audi Volkswagen Korea's official said Monday that the company delivered its intention to accept all measures of the Ministry of Environment (MOE) against Volkswagen at a working level meeting held last week, adding, “The company will soon reapply for certification for those 80 models (from 32 vehicle types) and fully support the efforts of the South Korean government.”

However, obtaining recertification is not going to be easy as the ministry has already warned a thorough review of the suspended models. The reason behind the revocation of certification is the fabrication of documents, not the issues related to performance or defects.

The Korean ministry plans to strictly validate and verify the models from the beginning this time, ranging from performance and defects to submitted documents. "We will make a thorough inspection just like the certification process of newly imported vehicles," the ministry official said. “It’s hard to say how many months it will take until the process is complete.”

이은택 기자nabi@donga.com