18 Car Manufacturers and Importers Fined 11.7 Billion KRW for Failing Safety Standards

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 10th that it has imposed fines totaling 11.73 billion KRW on 18 manufacturers and importers who sold vehicles that did not meet safety standards.

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The companies, listed in order of the amount fined, are BMW Korea, KG Mobility, Honda Korea, Renault Korea, Mercedes-Benz Korea, Tesla Korea, Volkswagen Group Korea, Scania Korea Group, Ford Sales Service Korea, Stellantis Korea, Jaguar Land Rover Korea, Hyundai Motor Company, Bike One, Kia, J's Mobility, FMK, Hansom Bike, and Autos One.

BMW Korea was fined the highest amount of 2.988 billion KRW due to issues such as poor grounding inside the steering wheel of 13 models including the 740i, which caused the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) to malfunction. Following BMW Korea were KG Mobility (1.88 billion KRW), Honda Korea (1.109 billion KRW), Renault Korea (1 billion KRW), Mercedes-Benz Korea (899.3 million KRW), and Tesla Korea (800 million KRW).

The Ministry explained that from July to December of last year, it calculated fines for manufacturers and importers who took corrective actions on vehicles that failed to meet automotive safety standards, based on criteria set forth in the Automobile Management Act, including sales revenue of the affected vehicles, correction rates, and maximum limits.

Separately, the Ministry imposed a total fine of 15 million KRW on six companies?Mercedes-Benz Korea, Stellantis Korea, Jaguar Land Rover Korea, Volkswagen Group Korea, Tesla Korea, and Ford Korea?that sold vehicles without correcting defects.

Additionally, Renault Korea was fined 5 million KRW for failing to notify buyers that defects had been corrected prior to sale. The Ministry requires manufacturers and importers with low recall correction rates to re-notify vehicle owners of recall plans.

A Ministry official stated, "We will continue to investigate cases of non-compliance with safety standards to ensure the public can use vehicles safely, and if violations are confirmed, we will strictly enforce penalties as prescribed by law."