[THE INVESTOR] Korean owners of Volkswagen vehicles will be filing a damage claim against Audi Volkswagen Korea, the carmaker’s Korean unit, for the lost resale value of their cars due to the VW emission-rigging scandal, local news reported on Aug. 4.

“We are gathering car owners who suffered a price loss as a result of the ministry’s latest decision to nullify registration and ban sales of VW cars. We will register a complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office as early as next week,” said Ha Jong-sun, a lawyer of Barun Law Firm, who is representing VW car owners in multiple suits against the automaker. 

The action comes after the ministry on Aug. 2 banned 80 vehicle models of Audi, Volkswagen and Bentley cars and revoked their certification over emission-rigging. The government also imposed fines of 17.8 billion won (US$16.05 million) on the German carmaker.

Since the scandal, the price of VW cars in the used market plummeted by around 20 to 40 percent.


By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)