Hyundai Motor chief pulls out of Lee's biz delegation to China

SEOUL, May 24 (Yonhap) The chairman of Hyundai Motor Co., mired in a court battle over embezzlement charges, will not accompany President Lee Myung-bak on his upcoming state visit to China, Lee's aides and company officials said Saturday.

Chung Mong-koo was initially on the list of 38 Korean business leaders, along with the heads of Samsung, LG and SK, who will go with Lee on Tuesday for a four-day trip to China.

But officials at the presidential office said the entourage list has been adjusted with Chung's pullout.

"It was difficult to confirm case-by-case initially, because each company has its own circumstances," a presidential aide explained, requesting anonymity.

The Seoul High Court is set to issue a ruling on Chung on June 3 after the Supreme Court returned the case to the appellate court. Its earlier ruling gave him a suspended prison sentence, while convicting him of embezzling over 90 billion won (US$92 million) of company money to create a slush fund and transferring stocks to his son at bargain prices.

A Hyundai Motor official requesting anonymity said, "With his court ruling set for early next month, Chairman Chung was concerned that his participation in the state event may cause inconvenience, and decided to pull out of the delegation."

The court battle was a major setback for Chung, who was seeking aggressive expansion in China. Hyundai Motor started commercial operations at its second factory in China in April as part of its efforts to drive up sales in the world's fastest-growing automobile market.

For all of 2008, the company plans to sell 380,000 vehicles in the Chinese market, compared with 231,137 sold last year. In 2010, Hyundai Motor aims to sell 600,000 vehicles in China, according to the statement.