(image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean version of U.S. lemon laws is set to go into effect next year as the government moves to strengthen consumers’ rights, the transport ministry said Monday.
Under the lemon laws in the United States, those who purchase cars and other consumer goods that repeatedly fail to meet standards of quality and performance are compensated by the sellers. The term “lemon” has long been used to describe defective vehicles or products in the U.S.
If a newly purchased vehicle repeatedly underperforms or malfunctions due to the same problem, a government-led experts committee will decide whether the vehicle should be exchanged or refunded from Jan. 1, 2019, an official at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said.
Customers can bring up all repeated problems mainly in the motor, power transfer unit, steering and braking systems within 12 months of a vehicle purchase to the committee for an exchange or refund. The vehicle subject to this rule must have a mileage not exceeding 20,000 kilometers after purchase, the official said.
If problems related to the safety of the driver and passengers occur at least twice, the vehicle is subject to an exchange or refund. In the case of general problems that do not affect safety, four failures will allow the owner to ask for an exchange or refund, he said.
(Yonhap)
