South Korea bans sale of 80 Volkswagen models

TIL Desk/Business/Seoul-South Korea today banned the sale of 80 Volkswagen AG models and handed down a USD 16 million fine in its latest response to the German carmaker’s emission-cheating scandal.

The environment ministry said most of the models had been showcased for sale until recently, and added that the problem vehicles had fabricated documents for emissions and noise-level tests. The ministry said it was revoking the certification for 80 models, or a total of around 83,000 vehicles.

“Fabricating documents is a clear violation that undermines the entire certification process,” Hong Dong-Gon, a ministry official in charge of auto environmental standards told a press briefing. The ministry also handed down a fine of 17.8 billion won (USD 16 million).