Lee Hyo-sik is Finance Desk editor at The Korea Times. He manages finance-related stories on macroeconomics, banks, stocks, bonds, crypto etc. He is passionate about covering what's happening in Korea's financial industry and explaining it to both Korean and non-Korean readers. You can reach him at leehs@koreatimes.co.kr. Your insights and feedbacks are always appreciated.
Audi unable to find alternative site for cancelled repair shop
By Lee Hyo-sik
By Lee Hyo-sik
Audi Korea is having a hard time securing a new location to replace its suspended maintenance depot in southern Seoul because the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) remains unwilling to offer an alternative site.
WeBON Motors, one of Audi's eight dealers here who sought to construct a repair center in Naegok-dong last year, said Tuesday that the city government should work harder to find an alternative plot for the company so that it can build a new auto body shop for Audi customers in Seoul.
WeBON Motors purchased the Naegok-dong site from SH, the city’s construction unit, in late 2013 and started building a large-scale auto maintenance depot with permission from Seocho District Office.
But several months later, nearby residents filed a suit against the company and the district office. The court ruled in favor of the residents, suspending the construction project in July 2014. Since then, the SMG has been looking to find an alternative site in Seoul for Audi’s maintenance depot.
It considered a piece of land inside Magok Industrial Complex in western Seoul. However, city officials recently decided not to sell it to WeBON Motors for fear that they could be accused of providing preferential treatment to the Audi dealer if the city government sells the land without holding an open bid.
“We really want the SMG to come out with an alternative site for us as soon as possible,” said a WeBON Motors official who declined to be named. “We lost more than 25 billion won due to the canceled construction of our Naegok repair center. We have no idea how we are going to recoup our losses.”
The official said that the dealer has not yet been informed of the city government’s plan, stressing city officials should find a new site for the company to start building a maintenance depot.
An Audi Korea spokeswoman also echoed the official’s view, saying that WeBON Motors needs to build the repair facility as soon as possible in order to serve its growing number of customers in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. The firm’s eight dealers currently operate 12 auto body shops in the capital city.
In October 2013, WeBON Motors began constructing Audi Center Gangnam on a 20,000-square-meter site in Naegok-dong, southern Seoul after acquiring permission from Seocho District Office.
The seven-story center ― four floors underground and three floors above ― would be the largest Audi repair center in Korea. SH sold the land in May and altered the land use designation together with the district office.
But two months later, residents in the area filed a suit against Audi, asking the Seoul Administrative Court to review the legality of the zoning change. They have also claimed that the planned repair shop will emit pollution, posing a threat to children attending nearby schools.
The court ruled in favor of the residents in July, suspending the construction project. The automaker appealed the case to the Seoul High Court and then to the Supreme Court, both of which ruled in favor of the residents.
Audi Korea, founded in 2004, sold a total of 29,651 vehicles between January and November this year, the fourth highest among foreign carmakers after BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen.