Sale of Daewoo Motor face difficulties: MOCIE

Shin Kook-Hwan, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE), said Friday that the sale of Daewoo Motor Co. to General Motors (GM) would be difficult in real terms unless Daewoo completes restructuring.

Saying that it made no difference if the carmaker had to shut down its assembly line for one or two days, Minister Shin said at a press conference that Daewoo should complete reforms before mid-February at the latest. Minister Shin is widely known to have met with Lee Jong-Dae, chairman of Daewoo Motor Co., recently and discussed the issues related to the ailing car company.

Saying that selling Daewoo Motor to GM was not the best solution, a senior MOCIE official said that various means, including the partial dismantling and management on commission, were considered. Many car industry analysts forecast that GM would announce its official position on the proposed takeover of Daewoo Motor at the U.S. Detroit Motor Show on Saturday.

In the meantime, Daewoo`s Pupyong factory, which was shut down due to the suspension of its auto parts supply, returned to normal operations after three days. However, it is still unclear whether Daewoo Motor will be able to maintain normal operations, as relevant suppliers continue to suffer serious financial shortages.