18 automakers fined $8.16 million for subpar safety standards

The transport ministry here said on Tuesday it has imposed fines totalling 11.7 billion won ($8.16 million) on 18 foreign and domestic automakers for selling cars with inadequate safety standards.

Of those, the imported brands included BMW Korea, Honda Korea, Mercedes-Benz Korea and Tesla Korea, while the domestic manufacturers included Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Corp. and KG Mobility Corp., according to the ministry.

The ministry said the fines were based on corrective measures against defective parts of the companies' models from July to December of last year, reports Yonhap news agency.

BMW Korea received the largest fine of 2.99 billion won over issues involving defective steering wheels in 13 models.

KG Mobility was given a 1.88 billion-won fine, followed by Honda Korea with 1.09 billion won, Renault Korea with 1 billion won and Mercedes-Benz Korea with 899 million won.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor, BMW Korea and three other carmakers will voluntarily recall nearly 300,000 vehicles due to faulty components.

The five companies, including Kia, Honda Korea and Mercedes-Benz Korea, are recalling a total of 298,721 units of 84 different models, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement.

The problems that prompted the recall include software problems in the integrated charging control unit of Hyundai's Ioniq 5 and Kia's EV6 all-electric models, a faulty braking system in BMW's 520i sedan and a faulty impeller of the fuel pump system in Honda's Accord sedan, according to the ministry.

The sales of imported cars in South Korea fell 3.9 percent from a year earlier in November, industry data showed.

The number of newly registered imported cars came to 23,784 units last month, down from 24,740 units from a year ago, according to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association. On a monthly basis, the tally represents an 11.9 percent gain from October.