Volkswagen Korea CEO to appear at parliamentary audit

     South Korean lawmakers will grill Volkswagen Korea’s CEO over the company’s handling of the emissions-rigging scandal in Korea during a parliamentary audit on Thursday.

“The company chief Thomas Kuehl came back from his business trip to the headquarters in Germany and will take part in the scheduled audit,” a company official confirmed.

The National Assembly’s transport committee had summoned him as a witness over his company’s emissions-cheating scam a few days after the scandal broke out in the U.S. last month.

Industry watchers said he will be well-prepared for the audit with detailed customer redemption plans as it be held a day after Volkswagen Group officially announced a massive recall plan on Wednesday.

The German carmaker’s new CEO Matthias Mueller said the company would recall all cars affected by its diesel emissions crisis by January and complete the fix by the end of next year.

In line with the move, on the same day, local units of Volkswagen and Audi will apologize to their Korean customers for their involvement in the scandal and promise to take every necessary measure to minimize inconveniences.

The company said it planned to send out an apology letter to drivers of about 92,000 Volkswagen cars whose emission results are suspected of having been manipulated, the officials said.

It will be the first time the local unit of the embattled German carmaker will officially apologize for the emissions-rigging scandal.

The local unit of Audi, another affiliate of Volkswagen Group involved in the scandal, also said it would express its apology to customers but has yet to decide whether to send out an apology letter to individual customers or make an announcement.

The government’s investigation on diesel engine-loaded Volkswagen and Audi cars for rigging emissions is underway.

The two companies and dealers of their cars are facing mass legal action from car owners for deceiving customers.

Market experts presume that about 120,000 Volkswagen and Audi vehicles might be subject to a recall if they turn out to be manipulated by the same software found by the U.S. environmental regulators.

By Seo Jee-yeon(jyseo@heraldcorp.com)