[THE INVESTOR] With German automaker Volkswagen AG deciding to pay US owners of defective vehicles as much as US$ 10,000 per car, Korean consumers are furious over the lack of similar compensation measures for them.

Volkswagen decided to pay a total of US$ 14.7 billion to settle emission cheating claims with owners of 475,000 affected vehicles in the US on June 28 (local time). 

In response to this settlement, Audi Volkswagen Korea reaffirmed that it has no plans to compensate Korean consumers, because the “Korean situation is different from the US.”



After the US agreement, VW clearly indicated that its settlement with US consumers is not an admission of its liability nor will it affect the company’s obligation for countries outside of the US. “Regulations governing nitrogen oxide emissions limits for vehicles in the US are much stricter than those in other parts of the world and the engine variants also differ significantly,” the company said. 

However, Ha Jong-sun, a lawyer of local law firm Barum, which is representing about 4,200 Korean customers of defeat vehicles, said he will push for the same compensation package for Korean consumers.

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