Hyundai Whistle-Blower, in Rarity for South Korea, Prompts Recall

Kim Gwang-ho, an automotive engineer, did something last year that many South Koreans saw as an act of betrayal: He became a whistle-blower.

Mr. Kim was then a 25-year veteran of Hyundai Motor Group, one of South Korea’s most successful companies and an icon of its industrial might. But he believed Hyundai was hiding dangerous defects from the public and the authorities, and he sent a batch of internal Hyundai documents to officials in South Korea and the United States to prove his allegations.

“If someone higher-ranked than you says you do it, you do it, no questions asked,” Mr. Kim, 55, said in an April interview, echoing critics who say South Korea suffers from a rigid hierarchical corporate culture. His eyes showed signs of fatigue that he attributed to months of publicly clashing with Hyundai. “If you talk back to a boss frankly, you’ll get fired,” he said.

Hyundai, which fired Mr. Kim, disputes his allegations. But on Friday, the government ordered Hyundai to recall 240,000 vehicles in South Korea and said that it would refer accusations that it hid defects to prosecutors. The government cited manufacturing issues brought to its attention by an insider it did not identify, but Hyundai, government officials, the local news media and Mr. Kim have all said that he is that insider. read more »

EU to investigate Italy over handling of Fiat emissions case, report says

The European Commission plans to launch infringement proceedings against the Italian government over its handling of an emission-cheating investigation into Fiat Chrysler, German daily Handelsblatt reported on Tuesday.

The Commission accuses Italy of ignoring the installation of so-called cheat devices to manipulate emission levels in diesel cars at Fiat. No comment from Fiat or the Italian government was available, the newspaper reported. read more »

Visit HB’s Auto Practice area page »