Hyundai Honorary Chairman to Retire

Hyundai Group, South Korea’s largest business conglomerate, said its founder, Chung Ju Yung, will retire as honorary chairman, giving in to mounting pressure from the government and creditor banks. Hyundai Group also said Chung’s two powerful sons--Chung Mong Ku, who heads the car-making units, and Chung Mong Hun, who controls electronics and several other units--will relinquish their posts, though there was some question about whether this would occur. If all the changes do happen, it would be one of the most significant restructuring developments at South Korea’s conglomerates, or chaebols, which have been controlled for decades by a handful of families and their followers. “The failure to separate management and ownership at major businesses was the main reason behind corrupt relations between politics and businesses,” said Kim Seok Joong, chief researcher at Daewoo Securities Co. “I can imagine that other conglomerates would be closely watching the development.” The Hyundai decision came after its construction arm, Hyundai Construction & Engineering Co., accepted $167 million in emergency relief funds from government-controlled banks last week.