Audi, Volkswagen, Bentley rejects Korea's lemon law

By Nam Hyun-woo

Audi, Volkswagen, Bentley and nearly half of imported car brands in Korea are refusing to introduce the Korean version of the U.S. lemon laws, according to industry officials Wednesday.

According to a recent survey done by the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ), 14 firms out of 24 import brands have yet to comply with the revised automobile management law.

The recommendation is a volunteer scheme which carmakers can choose to accept or not. When a brand accepts it, it has to replace or refund recently purchased vehicles that repeatedly exhibit problems.

In the CCEJ survey, conducted on March 13, nine brands including BMW, Mini, Jaguar, Land Rover, Infinity, Nissan, Toyota, Lexus and Volvo said they have decided to accept the scheme. Mercedes-Benz, which was categorized as refusing the rule, said it has recently decided to introduce the rule after consultation with the transport ministry.

“It took time for us to have the ministry to look over our plan to introduce the Korean lemon law,” a Mercedes-Benz Korea official said. “We will plan to implement the enhanced rule as soon as preparations are done.”

On the other hand, 14 brands are refusing to or are yet to decide whether to introduce the Korean version of the lemon law. They are Audi, Volkswagen, Bentley, Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Lincoln, Maserati, Cadillac, Honda, Peugeot, Citroen and Porsche.

Audi Volkswagen Korea, which handles the two brands and Bentley here, said nothing has been determined whether its brands will accept the recommendation, without elaborating further.

The CCEJ said Honda, Ford and Lincoln said they are planning to introduce it in the near future.

Five domestic carmakers said they have introduced or decided to accept the recommendation. Among them, GM Korea was categorized as a refusing firm in the CCEJ survey, but the firm later said it will introduce the rule as soon as possible.