Seoul-based Hankook Tire Group is recalling 246 faulty tires over safety hazards discovered by China's quality watchdogs Friday, its China partner confirmed Sunday.
This is the second discovery of quality control issues at Korean companies in China this year, following Kumho's recall of more than 300,000 substandard tires starting April 15.
An investigation showed the steel wires that should have run radially inside Hankook's tires stick out of the seam due to improper design or manufacturing, which greatly increases the risk of rupturing, announced the General Administration of Quality Supervision.
"We've established an emergency management team led by senior executives and offer free replacement to our customers," Huang Qingyan, public relations manager of Jiangsu Hankook Tire Co, told the Global Times.
Hankook, the world's seventh-largest tire maker, claims it has a leading 20 percent share of China's passenger vehicle market. It supplies more than 30 joint-venture and domestic automakers, according to Jiangsu Hankook Tire Co's official website.
With a total investment of $954 million, the company started building its third plant in Chongqing on May 18, aiming to produce 11.5 million tires annually by 2015.
But Hankook has long been at the center of complaints.
A Yutong bus with Hankook tires crashed after its right front tire blew out in Shangqiu, a prefecture-level city in Henan Province in April 2007, causing 11 deaths and 44 injuries, the local public transportation bureau confirmed.
So far, in the latest incident, recalled tires involve only Hankook's 11R22.5 AH18 model produced in the 50th week of 2010 and are mainly installed on trucks and buses, said the joint venture.
However, many consumers are still worried about potential dangers for family cars as some Hankook tires are reported to be on popular sedan models, such as Volkswagen's Passat, Santana and Polo.
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