Hyundai Chairman Chung Mong Hun Leaps to His Death (Update4)
Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Chung Mong Hun, the Hyundai Group chairman charged with illegally funneling money to North Korea, leaped to his death from his 12th-floor office window in Seoul, police said. The 54-year-old son of Hyundai's founder left a four- page suicide note, YTN television news reported.
Chung and two aides of former South Korean President Kim Dae Jung were charged in June with the illegal transfer of $450 million to North Korea ahead of a landmark summit that earned Kim the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000. Chung spearheaded the group's investments in North Korea, a legacy started by his father.
His death throws into doubt whether the group, once South Korea's biggest family-owned industrial empire, would continue investments in the North. Shares in Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., Hyundai Engineering & Construction Inc. and Hynix Semiconductor Inc., which helped channel the funds to North Korea, fell.
His death ``may have implications in the investigation relating to the North Korean funds,'' said Lim Chang Gue, who manages 400 billion won at Samsung Investment Trust Management Co. in Seoul.
Chung was chairman of privately held Hyundai Asan Corp., the unit that spearheaded the North Korean investments, including a five-year-old tourism resort. The unprofitable investments were a drain on the group's finances and helped lead to the breakup of Hyundai Group starting in 1999.
Breakup
Hyundai Motor Co. left, severing all ties, followed by Hynix and other companies. Amid the breakup, Chung and his older brother Chung Mong Koo became embroiled in a rivalry to take over the helm of the group. Group founder Chung Ju Yung named Chung Mong Hun as his successor in March 2000.
Chung's death ``leaves Asan's financial status very unclear,'' said Tony Michell, president of the U.K.'s Europe Asia Business Consultancy.
Shares in Hyundai Merchant Marine, which retains a 40 percent stake in Asan, dropped as much as 11 percent. Hyundai Engineering & Construction shares fell as much as 6.6 percent. Hynix shares slipped 3 percent.
Chung Mong Hun owned 4.9 percent of Hyundai Merchant Marine, the nation's second-largest shipping company, 16.6 percent of Hyundai Securities Co. and 1.2 percent of Hyundai Corp., a trading company of Hyundai Group. In the week prior to his death, Chung Mong Hun was questioned by prosecutors twice in connection with the North Korea probe, for 12 hours each time.
In his suicide note, Chung addressed the first part to Kim Yoon Kyu, president of Asan Corp., a close aide and friend of the founder, the YTN report said. In the note, Chung apologized and asked that Kim continue the group's efforts in the North, it said.
He also asked for forgiveness from his wife and three children and asked that his remains be scattered in Mt. Geumgang, where the group operates the tourism resort, it said.
Chung Mong Koo, chief executive of Hyundai Motor, was at the scene when his brother's body was removed just after 8 a.m. Kim Yoon Kyu and Kim Jae Soo, who oversaw the group's dismantling, watched as the body was loaded into an ambulance and taken to Asan Hospital. He's the second son of the Hyundai founder to commit suicide.
Last Updated: August 3, 2003 22:45 EDT |
