Prosecutors raided the main office of Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors amid allegations the company tried to conceal defects in some of its vehicles.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office sent its investigators on Wednesday to search the quality division at the headquarters of South Korea's largest automaker.

In May 2017, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and civic groups had requested a prosecution probe into Hyundai and Kia after alleging the company had tried to cover up parts defects in 12 models. 

This led to the ministry ordering a recall of 238,000 vehicles, including the Genesis BH, Mohave and LF Sonata models.