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Respected matriarch unites family in death

Published: 17 Aug. 2007, 21:42

Byun Joong-seok

Byun Joong-seok, the widow of the late Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-yung, died early yesterday, after a lengthy battle with heart disease and high blood pressure. She was 83.
Hyundai-Kia Motor Group, chaired by her second son, Mong-koo, said yesterday that Byun died in a hospital in southeastern Seoul.
Born in Gangwon, Byun married the late Chung, who died in 2001, at the age of 15 in 1936. Unlike the wives of owners of other Korean conglomerates, Byun earned a reputation for her frugality and humbleness, constantly remarking that “a sewing machine and a jar stand” formed her entire property.
Her descendants gathered yesterday for the first time since Chung Se-yung, co-founder of the overall Hyundai Group and younger brother of Ju-yung, died in May 2005. Hyundai-Kia Group Chairman Mong-koo, Hyundai Heavy Industries Chairman Mong-joon, her sixth son, and Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun, widow of the late Mong-hun, the fifth son, met at the chapel to mourn her.
Hyun Jeong-eun and her brother-in-law, Mong-joon, have been engaged in an emotional battle as Mong-joon’s Hyundai Heavy has tried to take control of Hyun’s group by acquiring sizable shares of her enterprise. The attempt is based on a male-centered family tradition among Korean conglomerates that says sons, not in-laws, should inherit control of the business.

By Seo Ji-eun Staff Writer [[email protected]]