About a dozen employees of vehicle importer Audi Volkswagen Korea Ltd. quit their jobs in recent months despite strong sales in South Korea, an industry official said Friday.

The official said 11 out of the 118 employees have left the company since late last year when the local importer of German vehicles replaced its senior management positions.

The development comes as Audi Volkswagen Korea posted an operating profit of 52.2 billion won ($46 million) in 2012. It became the No. 1 local vehicle importer in terms of operating profit by beating BMW and Mercedes-Benz, which had operating profits at 35.4 billion and 41.3 billion won, respectively.

In June, a total of 1,657 units of Volkswagen were sold, up 29.9 percent from a year earlier. Volkswagen was trailed by Audi with 1,643 units, according to data compiled by the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.

The combined sales of Volkswagen and Audi beat BMW and Mercedes-Benz, which sold 2,589 units and 1,874 units in June, respectively.

However, the 11 people quit their jobs within about a six-month period and more than two-thirds of them had worked for Volkswagen Korea, according to the industry official.

The industry official, who is familiar with Volkswagen Korea, said a German executive handling marketing activities meddled in expenses in details, causing friction with South Korean employees.

Another executive also reportedly said that he knew how Koreans tend to pocket money, an offensive comment that angered South Korean employees of Volkswagen Korea.

Audi Volkswagen Korea handles three brands -- Audi, Volkswagen and Bentley, according to Audi Korea.

An Audi Korea official referred a question on the recent development to Volkswagen Korea. Repeated calls to Volkswagen Korea seeking comment went unanswered on Friday. (Yonhap News)