[Asia Economy Reporter Noh Kyung-jo] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 10th that it will impose a total fine of 17.9 billion KRW on 12 manufacturers and importers who sold vehicles that did not meet safety standards.
The companies involved are Mercedes-Benz Korea, Tesla Korea, Hyundai Motor Company, MAN Truck & Bus Korea, Volkswagen Group Korea, Honda Korea, Porsche Korea, Pirain Motors, Toyota Motor Korea, Ford Sales Service Korea, Kia, and Giheung Motors.
This action follows the standards set by the Automobile Management Act, based on 31 recall cases conducted from January to June last year, considering factors such as sales revenue of the affected vehicles, the correction rate over six months, and the legal maximum fine. Among these, 11 cases achieved a correction rate of over 90% within three months, resulting in a 50% reduction in fines, and one case exceeded a 90% correction rate within six months, leading to a 25% reduction, according to the Ministry.
Looking at the main details, Mercedes-Benz had software errors in the hands-off detection system of the steering wheel in 25 models including the E250, affecting 30,878 vehicles. Ten safety standard violations were identified, such as the warning function not activating when the driver did not hold the steering wheel while using advanced driver assistance systems. The imposed fine was 7.2 billion KRW.
Tesla was fined 2.2 billion KRW. Software errors in the media control device affected 30,333 vehicles across two models including the Model 3, with five issues such as failure to sound a warning when the driver did not wear the seatbelt.
Hyundai Motor Company faced a fine of 2.2 billion KRW due to software errors in the tire pressure warning device of 64,013 GV80 vehicles, where the warning light did not activate despite low tire pressure during driving.
MAN Truck & Bus was fined 1.7 billion KRW for software errors in the brake control device of 603 vehicles across two models including the TGM Cargo, where the malfunction warning light for the vehicle stability control system was delayed.
Volkswagen was fined 1.5 billion KRW for software errors in the airbag control device of 3,252 vehicles across 17 models including the A4 40 TFSI Premium, with three issues such as partial data not being recorded in the event data recorder during accidents.
Honda and Porsche were each fined 1 billion KRW. Honda had design defects in the electric window main switch of 15,221 vehicles across five models including the Accord Hybrid, allowing window operation even after the engine was turned off and the door opened. Porsche had wiring layout defects in the rear center seatbelt buckle of 653 Taycan vehicles, causing instability when attaching child safety seats.
Pirain Motors was fined 500 million KRW for three issues including the absence of emergency exit devices in 82 Hypers11L electric buses. Toyota was fined 400 million KRW for the failure of the vehicle stability control system in 1,559 vehicles across two models including the Sienna Hybrid 2WD.
Ford was fined 100 million KRW due to a software error in the instrument panel of 231 Ranger Raptor vehicles, where the warning sound for rear seatbelt non-use during driving was insufficient. Kia received a fine of 87 million KRW for welding defects in the lower frame of the left third-row seat in 280 Carnival vehicles, resulting in insufficient attachment strength of the left and center third-row seatbelts.
Giheung Motors was fined 37 million KRW for software errors in the instrument panel of 180 motorcycles across three models including the Harley-Davidson Sportster S, where the instrument panel screen did not display during startup at subzero temperatures.
A Ministry official stated, "If the correction rate is low, manufacturers and importers are required to re-notify vehicle owners of the recall plan. We will continue to investigate safety standard non-compliance situations that could lead to accidents to ensure the public can use vehicles safely, and if non-compliance is confirmed, we plan to strictly enforce penalties as stipulated by law."
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