South Korean Owners Of Volkswagen Cars File Class Action Lawsuits In The U.S For The German Carmaker’s Rigged Emissions Tests

Class action lawsuits were filed in the U.S. by two South Korean Volkswagen owners against the German carmaker for tampering with their vehicles to pass strict emissions standards, reported India WebPortal on Monday.

"We have filed the suit because we were angry at Volkswagen," said one of the South Korean Volkswagen owner, Yim Ye Won. "We believe that there should be a heavy penalty for this act of fraud."

"The lawsuit was filed with a federal court in California," said Jason Ha, a lawyer representing the two South Koreans, who also added that his clients are seeking punitive damages.

According to Korea Times on Sept. 30, one of the South Koreans filing the lawsuit owns a 2014 Audi Q5 2.0 TDI, while the other owns a 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 TDI.

"Had it not been for the deceitful act by the accused, the plaintiffs would not have purchased the cars that do not meet emission standards for a large amount of money," said the law firm representing the two. "Since the purchase contract has been annulled retroactively, the defendants are obliged to return the money that the customers paid for the cars

On Sept. 22, the company admitted to installing cheating-emissions devices on their Audi and Volkswagen diesel vehicles since 2009 and apologized for the fraudulent act that will result to the largest recall in its history by January 2016.

"Our company was dishonest with the EPA, and the California Air Resources Board and with all of you," admitted Volkswagen's U.S. brand head, Michael Horn. "And in my German words: We have totally screwed up. We must fix the cars to prevent this from ever happening again and we have to make this right. This kind of behavior is totally inconsistent with our qualities."

Over 360 class action lawsuits have already been filed against the carmaker in U.S. federal courts for allegedly committing fraud, noted Live Mint on Saturday. The lawsuits aim to give back to owners the premiums paid for Volkswagen and Audi vehicles with "clean diesel" feature, lost value of vehicles and possibly the purchase price after depreciation.

Spokeswoman for Volkswagen Group of America, Jeannine Ginivan, has declined to comment regarding lawsuits filed against the company.