As part of an act of contrition for the bribery scandal rocking Hyundai Motor Group, the company is donating
$1.05 billion dollars to charity. The word came Wednesday as Hyundai vice chairman Lee Jeon-kap issued a formal apology
for the corporate malfeasance currently under investigation.
The donation will come in the form of 22.5 million shares of stock in Hyundai subsidiary Glovis, owned by Chung
Mong-koo (HMG’s chair) and son, Chung Eui-sun, president of Kia Motors. The shares are said to be valued at over $1
billion dollars.
Apparently, this type of corporate mea culpa is accepted practice for Korean business scandals, as earlier
this year, conglomerate Samsung expressed regret over its own corruption charges with a nearly $850 million dollar
donation.
Despite the pledges, neither Hyundai nor Samsung has named the beneficiary of their largesse, let alone transferred
any monies.
[Sources: JoonAng Daily; Autodrom.lu]