Italian auto giant Fiat is fine-tuning its plan to reenter the Korean market with its head office expected to finalize related discussions in the coming weeks.

“The Asia-Pacific branch has already approved the reentry into Korea, with the final decision remaining to be made by the head office,” said a spokesperson of Chrysler Korea.

She added that a high-ranking official from Fiat Group is scheduled to visit Seoul to finalize the issue in the coming weeks. The specific date of the visit has yet to be decided, she said.

The first model to be introduced to Korean consumers will be the Fiat 500, a compact car that has sold more than 500,000 units globally since its launch in 2007.

The import and sale of Fiat vehicles will be handled by the Korean operation of U.S. carmaker Chrysler, which fell under Fiat’s operational command since its bankruptcy in June 2009.

The Korean launch of the Fiat 500, however, is not expected to come within the year as it takes about eight months for a European car brand to complete regulatory proceedings here.

In his recent column published in a vernacular daily, Chrysler Korea CEO Greg Phillips also wrote that the return of Fiat was nearing, stressing the Fiat 500 will appeal to trend-conscious Korean consumers.

The 113-year-old carmaker based in Turin, Italy, had to withdraw from the Korean market when its local manufacturing partner Kia Motors went bankrupt during the 1997-98 Asia financial crisis.

Its previous attempt to reenter Korea in 2008 was also deferred as it coincided with another global financial crisis at the time.

Recently, Fiat received renewed media spotlight in Korea following news reports that Samsung Electronics COO Lee Jay-young became an independent board member of Exor, the investment holding company that controls Fiat-Chrysler.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)