South Korea Orders Recall of Cars With Takata Air Bags

Sept. 27, 2016 11:57 p.m. ET

SEOUL—South Korea's transport ministry has ordered more than a dozen auto makers, including the local unit of General Motors ^[1] Co. GM -1.32 % ^[2], to recall hundreds of thousands of imported cars equipped with rupture-prone Takata ^[3] Corp. 7312 -1.39 % ^[4] air bags.

A total of 221,870 vehicles made by Honda Motor ^[5] Co. HMC -1.17 % ^[6], Toyota Motor ^[7] Corp. TM -1.39 % ^[8], Ford Motor ^[9] Co. F -0.99 % ^[10], Volkswagen ^[11] AG VLKAY -1.73 % ^[12], Mercedes-Benz, GM and 10 other foreign car makers that had the faulty air bags are subject to recall, the ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

In the event of a crash, the air bags installed in these vehicles could send metal fragments flying and injure passengers, it said.

The Korean move is the latest in a string of recalls of the problematic air bags linked to deaths and injuries world-wide.

Car makers around the world have recalled millions of vehicles ^[13] that contain air bags whose inflater lacks a drying agent.

The recalled air bags use ammonium nitrate as a propellant in the inflaters, a chemical that can destabilize after prolonged exposure to moisture and heat, which can cause them to explode, spraying shrapnel in vehicle cabins. The inflaters become riskier with age, officials have said.

The ministry said some 110,000 imported vehicles, or about half the total cars subject to recall, will initially be called in for a fix because a few auto importers, including GM Korea Co., haven't finalized their recall plans globally.

GM Korea, which has been ordered to recall about 97,000 cars in Korea, said its recall will be implemented in accordance with a global plan, which is being worked out by its parent company in the U.S.

Takata air-bag ruptures have been linked to 14 deaths and more than 100 injuries globally, leading to the largest automotive recall to date ^[14]. Nearly 70 million air-bag inflaters are being recalled in the U.S. alone.

The Japanese auto-parts maker is seeking a cash infusion ^[15] from private-equity firms or automotive suppliers amid mounting recall costs. It remains under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration fined Takata $70 million ^[16] in November for failing to alert regulators to defective air bags in a timely manner as required under federal law.

Write to In-Soo Nam at In-Soo.Nam@wsj.com ^[17]