[THE INVESTOR] Korean customers of Volkswagen’s gasoline vehicles are set to file criminal charges against Audi Volkswagen Korea. The move comes in the wake of the recent disclosure by prosecutors that the German carmaker rigged software of its gasoline cars to cheat on emission tests, local news reported on June 19.

“Following the diesel vehicle scandal, it has been revealed that gasoline cars were also manipulated. We plan to gather victims here and file a lawsuit against Audi Volkswagen Korea,” said an official from Barun Law, a Korean law firm that also represents customers in on-going VW lawsuits for diesel cars. “We are also planning to file criminal charges for fraud, along with the damage suit.”

The investigative authorities on June 17 revealed VW imported its gasoline model Golf 1.4 TSI in January 2014 without meeting emission standards to be eligible for sale in Korea. In May that year, the state-run National Institute of Environmental Research rejected the model and told the carmaker to change the software to meet the emission and noise level standards.

After a series of disqualifications by Korean authorities, the company, instead of changing the system, installed a software in the engine control unit that served to understate emissions of poisonous nitrogen oxide. The prosecutors found out that it was the German headquarters that directly ordered the manipulation.

The carmaker has sold 1,567 units of the embattled model in Korea since March 2015.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)