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GM finally shuts down plant in S. Korean port city without ceremony SEOUL -- A standing signboard reading "Closed!" was placed at the gate of a GM plant in the southeastern port city of Gunsan Thursday, putting a permanent end to its operation that began 22 years ago. There was no ceremony to shut down the plant in Gunsan, 178 kilometers (110 miles) southeast of Seoul, which used to produce two GM models, the Orlando SUV and the Cruze compact. In February, GM decided to close the plant as part of its global business restructuring. T May 31, 2018
[FOCUS] Hyundai Motor urges shareholders' support to head off challenges SEOUL -- South Korea's Hyundai auto group appealed for support from shareholders to the proposed reorganization of its governance structure as a proxy vote war intensified due to a strong challenge from U.S. activist hedge fund Elliott. The group will split the module manufacturing and after-sales parts business of its parts-making unit Hyundai Mobis to combine it with Hyundai Glovis, a logistics unit. The plan requires approval at a meeting of Hyundai Mobis shareholders o May 17, 2018
Proxy advisor Glass Lewis urges vote against Hyundai: Yonhap SEOUL -- Hyundai Motor Group's push for a corporate governance overhaul program is facing growing opposition as U.S. proxy advisor Glass Lewis has urged shareholders to vote against the move later this month. In a recent report to investors, Glass Lewis said that Hyundai Motor Group's planned restructuring through spinoffs and mergers between affiliates carries "questionable business logic." In March, the world's fifth-biggest automaking group announced May 15, 2018
GM's unit in S. Korea to receive $7.15 bln bailout for long-term operation SEOUL -- The South Korean unit of U.S. carmaker General Motors will receive a bailout of 7.15 billion US dollars from its parent group and creditors to keep its troubled operation running under a deal that would quash a row sparked by the shutdown of one plant. The U.S. carmaker will convert $2.8 billion owed by GM Korea into shares by the end of this year and extend loans worth $3.6 billion for facility investment. GM cannot sell any of its stake in GM Korea over the next fiv May 10, 2018
LG acquires Austria's premium headlamp maker ZKW SEOUL -- LG Electronics, a unit of South Korea's fourth-largest conglomerate, disclosed a deal to acquire ZKW Group, an Austrian automotive lighting system producer, revealing its strategy to tap into a vehicle component industry. LG Electronics said it would buy a 70 percent stake in ZKW for 770 million euros while its parent holding company, LG Corp., will purchase a 30-percent stake for 330 million euros. ZKW produces premium car headlamps used for high-end European April 26, 2018
Hyundai Motor to streamline corporate governance structure A file picture shows Hyundai auto group chairman Chung Mong-koo. SEOUL -- South Korea's Hyundai auto group vowed Wednesday to streamline its complicated governance structure under government pressure to overhaul a complicated web of cross-shareholding among group units and enhance transparency in its management. The group said it would split and spin off the module manufacturing and after-sales parts business of its parts maker, Hyundai Mobis, and merge it wi March 28, 2018
S. Korea opens auto market wider in return for steel quota SEOUL -- South Korea has agreed to open its auto market wider to American cars in return for a steel quota to avoid tariffs in negotiations on a new free trade agreement pushed by U.S. President Donal Trump, trade officials said Monday. The trade ministry said South Korea steel products shipped under an annual import quota would not be slapped with a 25 percent tariff. As a result, South Korean steel shipment to the United States this year will stand at 74 percent of las March 26, 2018
[COLUMN] Hynix is good lesson for solution to GM factory shuttdown SEOUL, Feb. 26 (Aju News) -- When we look at the situation over GM Korea, two people who worked 16 years ago come to mind -- then Commerce, Industry and Energy minister Shin KooK-Hwan who bitterly opposed the sale of Hynix to a foreign buyer and the open-minded leadership of South Korea's late president Kim Dae-jung. Hynix was the biggest headache of the Kim administration which tried to sell the debt-stricken company to Micron Technology of the United States, but Shin' February 26, 2018
Majority of S. Koreans oppose unconditional bailout for GM SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Aju News) -- A majority of taxpayers opposed an unconditional bailout to keep afloat General Motors' troubled operations in South Korea, a poll showed Thursday as the American carmaker embarked on talks with government officials over the proposed shutdown of one plant. In a survey of 500 people, Realmeter, a Seoul-based pollster, found that 55.5 percent supported conditional financial help only if GM submits a reasonable pla February 22, 2018
GM announces shutdown of one plant in S. Korea SEOUL, Feb. 13 (Aju News) -- General Motors announced its decision Tuesday to close one of its four plants in South Korea by the end of May, triggering concerns in the regional community that the Detroit-based carmaker may pull out unless it gets financial help. GM has run four car assembly plants and one transmission factory since it acquired South Korea's troubled Daewoo Motor in 2002. It would close a plant for Cruze, a small sedan, and Orlando, a multi-purpose vehicle February 13, 2018