Hyundai boss to give $462mn to charity

SEOUL: South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor said Sunday its chairman would give $462 million to charity, partly fulfilling a pledge made in 2006 while being investigated for corruption.

Chung Mong-Koo will donate shares worth 500 billion won ($462 million) in Hyundai Glovis -- a Hyundai Motor subsidiary -- to help children from poor families, the company said in a statement.

The money will be donated to a charity group founded by Hyundai, it said, adding the sum was the largest personal donation ever made in South Korea.

The move came amid calls for Chung, 73, to honour his promise to donate one trillion won ($924 million).

Chung was later convicted of embezzling 90 billion won in company funds through fraudulent accounting to raise a slush fund to bribe government officials and politicians in return for business favours.

He said at the time the donation was aimed to "take social and ethical responsibility" for the scandal.

The tycoon was given a jail term, which was reduced on appeal in 2008 to a suspended three-year sentence and 300 hours of public service before receiving a presidential pardon two months later.

Since then he has donated shares worth 150 billion won for charity, prompting calls from civic groups and lawmakers to fully fulfill his pledge to donate one trillion won.

Hyundai Motor, with its affiliate Kia Motors, is the world's fifth largest automaker and controls nearly 80 percent of the South Korean auto market.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011