SEOUL: Hyundai Motor Co said on Tuesday that it will pay South Korean owners of its Sante Fe (DM) sport utility vehicle up to 400,000 won ($388.61) per car, after the transport ministry found the fuel economy of the SUV had been overstated.

This will affect around 140,000 vehicles, which means the total payout could reach 56 billion won ($54.41 million), a Hyundai Motor spokesman said.

South Korea's transport ministry said in June that it will fine Hyundai Motor around 1 billion won ($1 million) after its tests showed the fuel economy of the 2.0-litre Santa Fe (DM), in production since May 2012, was 8.3 percent lower than the vehicle's stated figure.

That exceeds the acceptable margin of error of 5 percent.

The transport ministry had tested the fuel economy of 14 vehicles sold in South Korea, after Hyundai and sister company Kia Motors said in 2012 that they overstated the fuel economy of about 900,000 vehicles in the United States, including the Santa Fe.

Hyundai will change the official mileage of the model from 14.4 kilometres per litre to 13.8 kilometres per litre, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.