[THE INVESTOR] Audi Volkswagen Korea chief Johannes Thammer is to be questioned as a suspect in the emissions-rigging scandal, the prosecutors’ office said on Aug. 9.
Thammer, who has been in charge of Audi Volkswagen’s operations in Korea since December 2012, will be questioned on Aug. 11.
Audi Volkswagen Korea chief Johannes Thammer.
The investigators suspect that Thammer was closely involved in the process of marketing the seventh generation Golf 1.4 TSI despite being aware that it falls below the emission standards.
The vehicle was found to fall short of the country’s emissions standards and pulled from the local market in May 2014. However, the carmaker updated the emissions software and received the green light six months later. In the process, the company forwent receiving approval for the new software.
The prosecution hopes to determine Thammer’s role in the process, and to gain information on the role Audi Volkswagen’s German headquarters had in the process.
By Choi He-suk (
cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)
