Over the past five years, the automotive company that received the highest amount of fines and penalties in South Korea was Mercedes-Benz Korea, the leading player in the imported car industry. The company had a cumulative amount of approximately 28 billion won.
According to data obtained by Park Sang-hyuk, a lawmaker and a member of the National Assembly’s National Transportation Committee, from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport on Oct. 5, Mercedes-Benz Korea received a total of 59 fines and penalties amounting to 27.67 billion won (US$20.45 million) from 2018 to September of this year, spanning a period of 5 years and 9 months.
The second company to receive the most fines and penalties was BMW Korea, with a total of 20 fines and penalties amounting to 15.31 billion won. Following them were Hyundai Motor Group with 18 cases and 13.37 billion won in fines, Porsche Korea with 10 cases and 13.16 billion won, Volkswagen Group with 22 cases and 7.8 billion won, Honda Korea with 12 cases and 6.88 billion won, Renault Korea with 6 cases and 4.7 billion won and Tesla Korea with 9 cases and 4.18 billion won.
During the period, automotive companies received a total of 311 fines and penalties. Among these, 76.8 percent, or 239 cases, were related to the sale of vehicles that did not meet safety standards.
According to Article 74-3 (1) of the Automobile Management Act, fines can be imposed on individuals or companies who sell vehicles that do not meet the safety standards. The fine may not exceed 2 percent of the sales revenue of the vehicle or vehicle parts. However, the fine is capped at 10 billion won if this amount exceeds 10 billion won.
Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz Korea has maintained its position as the top seller of imported cars for seven consecutive years from 2016 to last year.