South Korea's environment ministry has launched a probe into some imported Mercedes-Benz vehicles, an official said Friday, amid reports about an emissions fraud scandal involving German luxury automaker Daimler.

"We have found that there are some 40 kinds of imported Mercedes-Benz vehicles suspected of carrying the emissions manipulation device," the official said on condition of anonymity.

"We are currently investigating how many cars in question have been sold in Korea."


German and other foreign media reported that Germany's prosecution is investigating the allegations that Daimler manipulated the engines of some 1 million diesel vehicles apparently to cheat on their emissions levels.

If the allegations are confirmed to be true after a probe with the National Institute of Environmental Research, the environment ministry will file a complaint with the local prosecution and seek the recall of all affected vehicles, the official said.

"We will conduct a monitoring program ... in cooperation with the German authorities if possible," the official added. (Yonhap)