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Chief of Audi Volkswagen Korea to be summoned this week

August 9, 2016

SEOUL, Aug. 9 (Yonhap) — State prosecutors on Tuesday said the local chief of German carmaker Volkswagen will be summoned this week so he can be questioned on irregularities committed by the automaker in South Korea.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said Johannes Thammer will be summoned Thursday on charges of fabricating reports on noise level, fuel efficiency and emissions results to obtain approval from local authorities.

Prosecutors said they will also grill Thammer, who has been in charge of the vehicles’ imports and sales since December 2012, over whether he ordered his staff to illegally circumvent rules to get approval from the government.

About a week earlier, the Ministry of Environment banned sales and revoked certifications of 80 vehicle models of the carmaker. The ministry also slapped the German automaker with fines of 17.8 billion won (US$16 million).

Johannes Thammer, CEO of Audi Volkswagen Korea, attends a public hearing on the carmaker's emissions scandal at the National Institute of Environmental Research in Incheon, west of Seoul, on July 25, 2016.

Johannes Thammer, CEO of Audi Volkswagen Korea, attends a public hearing on the carmaker’s emissions scandal at the National Institute of Environmental Research in Incheon, west of Seoul, on July 25, 2016.