Again, there has been nothing in the news or in the papers around here about this huge embarassement for Hyundai, yet if this was an American Auto Compay executive the media would be camping outside the HQ of the auto company calling for their head.
In a rare move against a powerful top business leader, South Korea arrested Hyundai-Kia Motors Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo on charges of embezzlement and other corruption.
Local TV showed the 68-year-old Chung being transferred to the Seoul Corrections Bureau after a Seoul court had issued the warrant to arrest him following hours of evaluation.
The arrest comes amid rising concerns in South Korea of a leadership vacuum at the family-controlled Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, which are driving to become the world's fifth-biggest automaker by 2010.
Prosecutors also are reportedly seeking to indict Chung's only 38-year-old son, Kia Motors President Chung Eui-sun, without detaining him.
The two Chungs and other high-ranking officials including Hyundai Motor Vice Chairman Kim Dong-jin were questioned in the past month over whether the two automakers created and operated slush funds to get business and political favor.
Industry watchers said the arrest of Chung could delay the auto group's upcoming projects, including the construction of Kia Motor's first U.S. plant in Georgia.
Chung Mong-koo took control of Hyundai Motor in 1999 from his uncle Chung Se-yung. Later, he took over Kia Motors. Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors controls more than 70 percent of the South Korean auto market.
Hattip: The Car Connection
Posted by Quality Weenie at May 1, 2006 07:26 AM | TrackBack