Delivery motorcycles run in central Seoul in this file photo. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — The environment ministry announced on Tuesday that it will launch an investigation into allegations of possible exhaust gas manipulation of Chinese motorbikes imported without going through the process of exhaust emissions certification.
At present, the member companies of the Korea Import Motorcycle Environment Association can import up to 500 motorbikes of the same specification if they gain certification for only a single unit.
When certification is omitted for motorcycle importers, the association has the right to carry out the process of confirming the uniformity in the specifications of the units.
According to the ministry, there were 97,716 motorbikes imported from foreign countries, including China, during the period from 2012 to July this year without gaining exhaust emissions certification.
Against this backdrop, it has been alleged that some companies imported a large number of sub-standard bikes from China after gaining certification for an exemplary sample model.
Importers have also been accused of manipulating electronic control unit (ECU) software to gain exhaust emissions certification.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
