[THE INVESTOR] An executive of Volkswagen Korea was arrested by prosecutors on June 24 for his alleged involvement in the firm’s irregularities in the emissions scandal.

The Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for the official in charge of the vehicles’ certification process, surnamed Yoon, on a charges including forging documents and violating the Clean Air Conservation Act.

The court said there are enough reasons indicating that he is responsible for the crimes.

The 52-year-old, the first official from the Korean unit of the German carmaker to be taken into custody, is accused of forging reports to get government approval.

Prosecutors suspect the company doctored over a hundred reports on emissions results, noise levels and fuel efficiency between August 2010 and February 2015. Some models were even imported without going through the proper certification process, they said.

Under local law, all imported cars should first receive approval from the National Institute of Environmental Research of their emissions results and noise levels.

Prosecutors said they will interrogate Yoon on the allegations raised and whether the German headquarters was involved in the process.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)