Police raided the headquarters of BMW Korea on Aug. 30 to look into the alleged concealment of defects of its vehicles, which have been under fire recently. It is a follow-up step after the victims of the car fire filed a complaint with the police against the German headquarters of BMW and the Korean office on Aug. 9.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency raided the BMW Korea's office in Hoehyeon-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul to secure evidence related to BMW's vehicle defects.
It was reported that police have focused on the contents of the e-mail messages that BMW Korea sent to its headquarters in Germany regarding the EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) defects to find out whether it has intentionally covered up its internal flaws of EGR after analyzing evidence.
The police are moving to summon key executives and staffs of BMW Korea, led by Chairman Kim Hyo-joon, soon after launching an in-depth investigation into the case.
Meanwhile, the fire of BMW vehicle continued on Aug. 30 amid a series of similar cases that have led the German carmaker to start a massive recall in the country.
Local authorities said a BMW 750Li automobile caught fire at 3:58 p.m. in Daejeon, 160 kilometers south of Seoul, as it was being driven. The 2010 automobile, which runs on gasoline, was not on the list of cars recalled by the German carmaker. The fire was extinguished within 20 minutes and no causalities were reported, as the driver escaped immediately.
Earlier in the day, a gasoline-fueled BMW 320i, which was also not recalled, caught fire in Seoul at around 12:15 a.m. The driver purchased the car last year. Another BMW 528i automobile reportedly caught fire on Aug. 29.
As the confusion surrounding BMW vehicle fires continues, meanwhile, BMW Korea Chairman Kim said on Aug. 28 during a hearing at the National Assembly that he would look into halting sales of fire-prone BMW models until the investigation into the cause of the engine fires is completed.
