Korea's government said Monday it will order a recall of hundreds of Nissan vehicles sold in Korea after it found that the Japanese carmaker had fabricated emissions results.

The Ministry of Environment said the Qashqai model of the Japanese automaker was found to have faked its emissions results by using a so-called defeat device. 

A total of 814 cars have been sold here from November to last week.

The announcement came after the government launched a nationwide probe into 20 models of diesel cars sold in Korea sparked by the German carmaker Volkswagen's emissions scandal last year.

Volkswagen was found to have falsified emissions results from some of its diesel models to meet tight regulations in the United States. Massive recall plans were announced in major global markets.

The ministry said it is planning to levy the Japanese company 330 million won ($280,000) in fines and suspend the sales of the compact crossover.

The environment ministry said it will also file a complaint against Takehiko Kikuchi, the head of Nissan Korea, with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office.

Once the recall order is given, the Korean unit of the Japanese carmaker must submit its recall plan within 45 days. (Yonhap)