GM to recall 27,051 Spark cars in Korea due to transmission defect

SEOUL (Reuters) - General Motors Co will recall 27,051 Spark mini cars in South Korea due to a defective transmission mount, the latest in a string of global recalls by the U.S. automaker.

The gearbox mount may destabilize and cause a drop in transmission power, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement on Friday.

The affected cars were produced in South Korea between June 8 and Dec. 12 last year, the ministry said.

GM had voluntarily reported the defect to the Korean government, an official from the ministry told Reuters.

The ministry had previously uncovered the same problem and had announced a recall of 4,848 Spark minis in January, the official said.

A GM Korea spokesman said there have been no reports of crashes or injuries arising from the defect.

The Korea-made Spark is also sold in the United States and Europe.

The GM Korea spokesman said the cars exported to the U.S. will not be affected by the recall, and the company is considering whether to take "proper action" in other markets such as Europe.
So far this year, GM has recalled 29 million vehicles, more than half of them because of potentially defective ignition switches blamed for at least 61 crashes and 16 deaths.