Volkswagen Korea CEO Thomas Kuehl faces a parliamentary audit as the National Assembly’s transport committee decided to call him as a witness next week over his company’s emissions-rigging scandal.

“Considering the status of Volkswagen Korea in the nation’s imported car market, it is necessary for the company head to explain what it will do to minimize the impact of the recent emissions scandal in the U.S. by its parent company on Korean consumers,” the committee said in a statement.

But it remains yet to be seen whether the Volkswagen CEO will accept the summons to appear on Oct. 8, as he is scheduled to visit Germany on a business trip until Oct. 13 to discuss the emissions scam involving diesel-powered Volkswagen and Audi cars, a person familiar with the matter said. 

In a related development, the German carmaker is expected to recall around 100,000 vehicles sold in Korea in connection with the diesel emissions scandal, sources said, citing Volkswagen documents submitted to Korean authorities.

Volkswagen and Audi vehicles whose emission results are suspected of being faked before being sold here reportedly amounted to about 90,000 and 30,000 units, respectively. They include the Golf, Jetta, Beetle and Passat of Volkswagen and the A3, A4, A5 and Q5 of Audi. 

Of about 120,000 vehicles in question, market watchers expect that up to 100,000 units could be subject to the recall, the largest-ever number of imported cars to be recalled due to emissions problems in Korea.

The massive recall plan, however, is not enough to contain the fallout from Volkswagen Group’s cheating scandal related to customer trust, industry watchers said. 

This week, the Ministry of Environment began emissions testing on Volkswagen cars suspected of running the emissions-cheating software. Three Volkswagen brands and one Audi model will be subject to the tests, which will take place both in labs and on the road.

Based on the investigation results, the ministry said Thursday it would decide whether or not to expand the investigation into other foreign and domestic brands.

On Wednesday, two owners of Volkswagen vehicles sued the German carmaker, demanding their purchase contracts be annulled, arguing that they were based on deception.  

Volkswagen Group’s emissions-rigging scandal erupted in mid-September when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revealed that diesel-powered Volkswagen and Audi cars used software that activates emission controls only when the car is going through official testing. 

The world’s No. 1 carmaker, with such brands as Audi, Skoda, Bentley and Bugatti, admitted to the accusation and was ordered to recall about 500,000 vehicles in the U.S. alone. It also admitted that about 11 million cars sold globally might be equipped with the “defeat device.”

By Seo Jee-yeon(jyseo@heraldcorp.com)