Kia Vice Chairman Resigns Because of Recall

Although minor compared to the recall ordered by Toyota in late 2009-early 2010, Kia's problems with the Soul and Sorento were enough to force Chung Sung-eun, the carmaker's vice chairman, to resign his position. The South Korean manufacturer confirmed that the recall is the reason why the executive left.

According to company spokesman Michael Choo, cited by Autonews, Chung, a former president of Kia, was the man in charge of the production division. A successor for the vice chairman has not yet been appointed.

The problems for Kia's vice chairman began last week, when the carmaker announced it is recalling 35,185 Soul and Sorento models who may experience faulty wiring.

That number applies only to the US, because the worldwide count reached 85,900 units after the Kia Motors joint venture in China with Dongfeng, Yueda Kia Motor announced it will recall 18,147 units of the Sorento, Borego and Soul.

According to the carmaker, the wiring problem is caused by harnesses supplied by JCI and used mostly for interior lighting: in the Soul for the front speakers and in the Sorento for the interior accent illumination. Because the harnesses are improperly soldered, a spark may result, which in turn may lead to a fire.

The recall is expected to begin this month in pretty much all the markets, with the local Kia dealers getting ready to get the cars in for repairs. As usual in a recall, fixing the problem will come at no cost for the owner. The problem will be solved by replacing the wiring harnesses.