Finance Panel Chief Vows Market Will Decide Fate of a Hyundai Unit

The head of the Financial Supervisory Committee vowed Tuesday that he would stick to market principles when dealing with Hyundai Petrochemical Co., which faces more than $1 billion in maturing debt.

The statement by the panel's chairman, Lee Keun-young, challenges comments by the consulting firm Arthur Andersen, which said recently that Hyundai could not survive without assistance, even though Hyundai's assets of 2.8 trillion won ($2 billion) exceeded its debt of 2.6 trillion won. The consulting firm, which advised Hyundai's creditors, said the company would need extended maturity on 1.3 trillion won of its debt - 700 billion won of loans and 600 billion won in bonds - until the end of next year to ensure its survival.

But Mr. Lee did not agree with that assertion. "We are checking whether the creditors concur with Arthur Andersen," he said. "We're looking for ways to minimize creditors' losses without aid, including receivership."

by Chung Sun-gu