South Korea may consider exempting two popular commercial vehicles of GM Korea Co. from tightened environmental and safety regulations set go into effect next year, an opposition lawmaker said Friday.

The move is apparently designed to encourage the local unit of U.S. General Motors Co. to keep producing beyond the end of the year its Damas minivan and Labo pickup truck.

The carmaker has said it would end the production of the two vehicles in December as it could not meet tightened environmental and safety regulations. It also said it made its decision as it would take time and cost a lot of money to meet the regulations. (

The regulations call for, among other things, all vehicles to be equipped with an on-board diagnostics II, an automatic system that informs the driver of gas emissions and engine malfunction.

Still, government officials said they could consider exempting the Damas and Labo from the regulations in case GM Korea moves to meet the improved standards, said Woo Yoon-keun, a lawmaker of the main opposition Democratic Party, citing a government report submitted to his office. 
(Yonhap News)