Park Jae-hyuk is a seasoned journalist who has provided comprehensive coverage of South Korea's corporate dynamics, economic policies, industry challenges and the global positioning of Korean companies. Based on the articles he has written since joining The Korea Times in 2016, his investigative approach has helped readers understand corporate governance, economic trends and business strategies shaping South Korea’s economy.
Will water-damaged Hyundai cars go on sale?
Hyundai Motor’s plant in Ulsan is submerged by heavy rain in this photo taken on Oct. 6. Rumors have spread that the company will sell vehicles produced at the water-damaged plant, but the company strongly denies the allegations. / Yonhap
By Park Jae-hyuk
By Park Jae-hyuk
Hyundai Motor is struggling to deal with rumors that vehicles damaged by flooding at its Ulsan factory will go on sale on the domestic market despite its continual denials.
A Hyundai Motor official said Friday that the automaker will use the water damaged vehicles only for testing at its research and development center where collision tests require a lot of vehicles. Those used for tests have different plate numbers than ordinary cars.
However, rumors have spread that Hyundai Motor will sell damaged cars to its employees at cheaper prices and they will then be sold on the domestic used-car markets. Some even said that the damaged vehicles will be released as new cars.
A Hyundai Motor official denied these accusations.
“We do not have any plan to sell damaged vehicles to our customers or employees,” he said. “Our employees can easily notice whether a vehicle is damaged or not.”
After typhoon Chaba hit southern Korea, Wednesday morning, two Hyundai Motor plants in Ulsan were flooded by heavy rain.
Operations at Hyundai Motor’s plant that produces the Santa Fe, Avante, Tucson and i40 vehicles were suspended until Friday morning; but the initial restart time of 9:00 a.m. was missed due to the failure to adequately remove muddy water.
Dozens of vehicles at the Ulsan delivery center were also damaged, although the employees moved the cars to the hillside, as soon as they received the typhoon forecast.
Only the plant which produces the Accent and Veloster resumed operations, recovering from the flooding in three hours.
The Hyundai Motor official said, “It is hard to anticipate when full operations will begin. We are trying hard to resume work as soon as possible.”
Along with its sister company Kia Motors, Hyundai Motor is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group, the country's biggest automaker.
Under the stewardship of Chairman Chung Mong-koo, it has grown fast to become the world's No. 5 player.