South Korean units of foreign carmakers were more eager to pay out dividends than to make donations in 2015, according to audit data.
Mercedes-Benz Korea and seven major distributors of imported cars doled out a combined 4.22 billion won ($3.72 million) to charity last year, but their dividend payouts reached 83.61 billion won.
Of the seven, Mercedes-Benz Korea, BMW Korea, Porsche Korea, Hanbul Motors Corp. were the only carmakers that made donations.
Mercedes-Benz Korea topped the list with 2.05 billion won, followed by BMW Korea with 1.81 billion won, Hanbul Motors with 210 million won and Porsche Korea with 150 million won. Habul Motors is the local importer and distributor of Peugeot and Citroen cars.
Mercedes-Benz Korea was also the top dividend payer with 58.56 billion won, trailed by Audi Korea with 16.01 billion won, Porsche Korea with 6.04 billion won and Volvo Korea with 3 billion won.
Sales of imported cars in South Korea jumped 24.2 percent on-year to 243,900 units in 2015, driven by a marked increase in demand for European brands.
(khnews@heraldcorp.com)