South Korean Government To Test All Diesel Car Makes And Models In Response To Strong Public Interest Amid Volkswagen Scandal

The Ministry of Environment announces on Thursday that all diesel car makes and models will undergo testing for software created to cheat emission tests amid the growing issue of Volkswagen scandal.

The German carmaker was accused by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last month for reportedly using software to allegedly cheat on emissions standards. According to EPA, almost half a million of VW's diesel-powered cars were equipped with software called "defeat device."

The VW scandal has raised the interest of the public which compels the South Korean government to test all available diesel cars, Nikkei Asian Review reported on Friday. The testing started on Thursday, wherein seven VW and Audi cars were inspected.

Although VW has "submitted paperwork by Wednesday to recall at least 120,000 vehicles in South Korea, including some of the seven models being checked by the ministry," the South Korean government is still expected to conduct its own tests and will collect the results in November.

Report also reveals that the government "could order a recall, revoke a vehicle's certification, ban a vehicle's sale, or impose a fine of up to 1 billion won ($858,200) per model" under the Korean law if any offense is confirmed.

"We are carrying out the test on the defeat device in the same manner as it was done in the United States," says official from Ministry of Environment, as noted by Korea Times on September 24. "If the result turns out to prove the device was adjusted to give a false reading, it may lead to a recall here."

Despite the growing issue, the South Korean government says it has no plans to reprimand VW and Audi on the allegations, "due to the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement, where Korea promised to follow the EU standards."

On the other hand, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will re-inspect 21 models including Audi A3 and A7.

"Although the cars have passed our test, they will be placed under inspection again," says an official from Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

"The software manipulation may affect the cars' fuel efficiency, because if the exhaust gas recirculation works normally, it could drop fuel efficiency," says Deaduk College professor of machinery and automobiles Lee Ho Geun. "In the following re-inspection, fuel efficiency for those cars is expected to be lower than the data from the previous inspection showed."

He goes on, "As for fuel efficiency, drivers have constantly raised the issue that the approved mileage has shown a significant gap with the actual mileage they have measured on the road. This time, the government should conduct a full-scale inspection on the fuel efficiency of these cars."