Two S. Korean drivers to sue Volkswagen over emissions scam

SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- Two Volkswagen car owners in South Korea plan to sue the German carmaker for deceiving them about emission results in what would be the first legal action here following the ever-deepening emission cheating scandal, their legal representatives said Wednesday. The two, one of whom owns an Audi Q5 2.0 TDI of 2014 and the other a Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 TDI of 2009, will file a lawsuit against Volkswagen Group, Audi Volkswagen Korea and local dealers, according to Barun, a law firm that represents the plaintiffs. It will be filed with a Seoul court later in the day. The law firm is accusing the carmaker and dealers of deceiving its customers and demanding the contracts that they made to buy the cars in question be annulled. "Had it not been for the deceitful act by the accused, the plaintiffs would not have purchased the cars that do not meet emission standards with a large amount of money," the law firm said. "Since the purchase contract has been annulled retroactively, the defendants are obliged to return the money that the customers paid for the cars," it added. The law firm said that the carmaker and dealers duped its customers into buying their cars with the promotion that the diesel vehicles help protect the environment by producing a small amount of emissions and that their fuel efficiency is much better than gasoline engine models. The law firm also demanded they return the profit that they earned through such an "inappropriate" method, while asking 30 million won (US$25,080) to be paid in damage each to the two owners. The lawsuit would be the first legal action after Volkswagen and its other brands, including Audi, were found to have faked the emission results for some of their diesel engine models in the United States. In mid-September, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that Volkswagen used software that activates emission controls only when the car is going through official testing in a bid to fake test results and pass strict emission standards. The world's No. 1 carmaker admitted to the accusation and decided to recall about 500,000 vehicles in the U.S. alone. It also admitted that over 10 million cars sold globally might be equipped with the "defeat device." kokobj@yna.co.kr (END)