U.S Transport Authority Rewards $24 Mln To Whistle Blower For Exposing Hyundai Defects

(RTTNews) - The auto safety regulator in the U.S, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA gave away the first-ever reward to a whistle-blower for revealing important information about the safety lapses at the South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai Motors Co. Ltd.

The whistle-blower, Kim Gwang-ho, who is an ex-Hyundai Motors engineer, was awarded a sum of more than $24 million for his inside information about the carmaker. The reward comes in the backdrop of the NHTSA and the US Department of Transportation planning new rules and regulations regarding an automotive whistle-blower program developed by the Congress in 2015.

In 2016, Kim had reported to the NHTSA that Hyundai was not repairing a design problem in its Theta II engines, which could easily seize up and even catch fire.

Commenting on the reward, the NHTSA said, "This reward is the maximum percentage allowed by law and whistle-blowers play a crucial role in bringing information to NHTSA about serious safety problems that are hidden from the agency."

Kim had informed the NHTSA that Hyundai Motors was not doing enough to correct engine faults, which heightened the chances of crashes. To support his claims, he submitted as evidence an internal report from Hyundai's quality strategy team to management.

An investigation by NHTSA later revealed that Hyundai and its subsidiary Kia had wasted lot of time in recalling the affected vehicles and had not provided accurate information to the authorities about the problems incurred.

In 2020, the US operations of Hyundai and Kia agreed to a huge $210 million civil penalty after NHTSA ruled that the carmaker had failed to recall vehicles with faulty engines.

Commenting on his reward, Kim said, "I am pleased that I have been justly compensated for the risks I took to protect owners of these defective cars, and grateful that the US's legal system had a program in place to make this possible."

Kim's reward is the first one given out under the US Motor Vehicle Safety Whistle-blower Act, passed by Congress in 2015 to set up a reward program in the Department of Transportation for company people who supply information to safety regulators about vehicle defects.