Hyundai chief hits weak yen for favoring Japanese rivals

Chairman Chung Mong Koo of Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's largest automaker, asked the company's management Monday to better prepare for global competition as the weaker yen becomes a "burden" for the carmaker.

"Hyundai Motor's global management is at a critical stage now because of the weaker, yen rising fuel prices, fiercer competition," the company quoted Chung as saying.

Hyundai Motor's profit dropped 35 percent last year and 10 percent in the first quarter this year as a stronger won against the dollar slashed repatriated export earnings. The weaker yen against the dollar further eroded Hyundai Motor's competitiveness abroad, narrowing price gaps with Japanese carmakers' vehicles overseas.

"The weaker yen especially is becoming a big burden," the chairman said in a message to a meeting of regional executives from the automaker's global operations.