By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
GM Daewoo, the Korean unit of U.S. carmaker General Motors, has asked for emergency loans of up to one trillion won ($678 million) from Korea Development Bank (KDB), industry sources said Thursday.
Chairman Michael Grimaldi met with KDB President Min Euoo-sung last week to request the cash injection. Grimaldi had sought financial aid from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, but the ministry turned down the request, saying the government was not supposed to help individual companies.
GM Daewoo confirmed its request for help. ``It is true the company asked KDB for help,'' spokesman Kim Young-soo said. ``But I can't comment further on the details, including the exact amount of cash needed.''
KDB requested GM Daewoo to submit the necessary documents by the end of this month to decide whether or not to provide bailout funds to the carmaker.
GM Daewoo's financial condition is allegedly serious. The company has already exhausted a credit line of $1.3 billion earlier this month, according to KDB.
The company's sales have also plunged this year ― it sold a total of 45,842 vehicles last month, down 50.5 percent from a year ago.