Regulatory response and internal investigation over a global automaker's failure to carry out a recall

The Korean subsidiary of a global automaker failed to carry out its overseas headquarters' recall policy in a timely manner. It became necessary to establish how the recall was delayed, respond to the relevant authorities, and conduct an internal investigation into how the employees involved had handled the matter.

Attorney Jaehoon Lee handled the Korean subsidiary's response to the government authorities and the internal investigation for the overseas headquarters.

The central issue was to determine the cause and sequence of events behind the failure to carry out the recall in time, and to explain the facts accurately to the relevant authorities so as to minimize administrative sanctions.

It was also important to establish how the responsible employees had handled the matter, and where responsibility lay, as the headquarters' recall policy went unimplemented in Korea.

Attorney Lee reviewed how the recall failure occurred and how the responsible staff had handled it, and visited the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in person to explain the sequence of events and the related circumstances. Through this, he worked to keep any follow-up action by the authorities to a minimum.

Separately, in consultation with the overseas headquarters, he conducted an internal investigation of the Korean subsidiary's responsible employees. He investigated how the employees had handled the matter and the question of their responsibility, then compiled the findings and reported them to the overseas headquarters.

We explained to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport how the recall failure occurred and the related circumstances, and worked to minimize administrative sanctions.

We also completed the internal investigation of the employees involved and reported the results to the overseas headquarters, helping headquarters understand what had happened and where internal responsibility lay, and consider follow-up measures.