Hundreds of Audi Volkswagen Korea customers are refusing to comply with the local auto distributors’ recall measures for its illegally faked emissions vehicles, according to the law firm Barun Law LLC.

Last month, the Korean government announced it had approved Volkswagen’s first round of recall plans for 27,000 Tiguan SUVs to begin on Monday.

However, following the recall approval, 610 Tiguan owners filed a law suit with the administrative court against the Ministry of Environment last month demanding a rejection of the automaker’s recall plans. They claimed the government’s investigation was insufficient and that measures of the recall are still not environmentally sound.

According to Barun Law attorney Ha Jong-seon who is representing the complainants, the government’s approval of Volkswagen‘s recall plan allows only a 20 to 30 percent reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions. 

The result would mean that car owners driving in the city with the air conditioner on will still emit nitrogen oxide six to seven times higher than the standard value, Ha claimed.

Ha added that the hundreds of represented Tiguan owners will not recall their vehicles until the court reaches a verdict on the matter.

Attorneys at Barun Law have also been leading a multiple class-action suit in both Korea and the US against the German carmaker and represents 5,000 local Volkswagen car owners who purchased the company’s tampered vehicles.

In partnership with the US law firm Quinn Emanuel, Barun Law has filed suits against VW and its sales agencies seeking punitive damages for Korean consumers.

Approximately 126,000 VW vehicles in Korea are to be recalled following an investigation that accused Audi Volkswagen Korea of using a “defeat device” to alter emissions readings to meet local environmental standards.

VW’s next recall measures involving roughly 15,000 CC mid-size sedans is still pending government approval.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)