"Emission Manipulation" Mercedes-Benz Korea Loses Appeal in Fine Cancellation Lawsuit

Mercedes-Benz Korea, which was fined over 60 billion KRW for suspected illegal manipulation of exhaust emissions, lost the second trial against the Ministry of Environment.

A view of a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 15th, the Administrative Division 11-3 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Kim Woo-su, Choi Soo-hwan, Yoon Jong-gu) overturned the original ruling that partially favored Mercedes-Benz Korea in the lawsuit against the Minister of Environment and the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Research seeking cancellation of the fine imposition, and ruled a complete loss for the plaintiff.

Previously, in 2020, the Ministry of Environment detected that Mercedes-Benz Korea had illegally manipulated (arbitrary settings) exhaust emissions in some vehicles sold domestically and imposed a fine of 64.2 billion KRW. Mercedes-Benz manipulated nitrogen oxide emissions by reducing the usage of urea solution, a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) agent, or by lowering the operation rate of the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system after a certain driving time.

The appellate court stated, "As damage to the environment and human health caused by vehicle exhaust emissions becomes severe, and the exhaust emission certification procedures and fine imposition standards under the Air Quality Preservation Act become stricter," and judged that "there is no evidence of abuse or deviation of discretion by the Minister of Environment in canceling each certification and imposing fines close to the maximum limit on the plaintiff who obtained exhaust emission certification fraudulently by hiding the arbitrary settings and imported and sold the affected vehicle models."

A Seoul High Court official explained, "This appellate court ruling can provide practical guidelines for environmental administration related to vehicle exhaust emission regulations, including exhaust emission certification procedures by environmental authorities, cancellation of certifications related to fraudulent certification and sales with certification mismatches, and calculation and imposition of fines."