Aside from having a higher debt-to-equity ratio than Hyundai, it was particularly dependent on short-term debts.
Remember the sneers about Hyundai when it first arrived in the U.S.: It couldn't compete with used cars.
Lee has a hold on Hyundai because it remains dependent on semiconductors.
Indirectly, through the banks, the government owns some truly big companies, such as Daewoo, Ssangyong and, soon, Hyundai: it has these holdings because the banks swapped the firms' debt for equity.
But even more important, Hyundai thinks it can gain a strategic advantage by using its own metallurgists to develop exclusive lightweight, high-strength steel alloys it needs to satisfy higher fuel economy standards.
Hyundai has said it will compensate the affected buyers.
BBC: Hyundai Motors' profits slide as strong won hits earnings
Hyundai Motor Corp. has admitted it conducted mileage tests on many 2012 and 2013 models improperly.
Hyundai insists, though, that it is not trying to roll back the clock and reassemble the chaebol.
It is understandable that Hyundai is moving to protect its interests by producing steel, said CSM Worldwide analyst Jim Gillette, who expects a significant steel shortage by mid-decade.
With stands in opposite ends of the exhibition halls at the Geneva motor show, it is clear that Hyundai and Kia are attacking the European market on two fronts.
Hyundai is also facing compensation claims after it admitted that it had overstated the fuel efficiency of some of its vehicles.
BBC: Hyundai Motors' profits slide as strong won hits earnings
As creeping as the pace of change may be, it is hard to fault Hyundai, or any of the chaebol, on formalities.
If Hyundai is making steel rather than importing it from places like Japan or China, it can control prices and ensure adequate supply for its rapidly growing automotive business.
If Hyundai is making steel rather than importing it from places like Japan or China, it can control prices and quality, and ensure adequate supply for its rapidly growing automotive business.
Hyundai, for example, confirmed that it would suspend construction of a semiconductor plant in Scotland and a car factory in Indonesia (both measures that had already been announced), and postponed its founder's dream of building a steel plant.
Chung Ju Yung, Hyundai's 83-year-old founder, cannot know whether it was wise to force his brother to give up an 8.3% stake in Hyundai Motor in exchange for 37.7% of Hyundai Industrial Development and Construction, South Korea's largest builder of apartments.
Leader Hyundai Motors still seems to want to go it alone, without foreign help, but even here an eventual foreign partnership isn't ruled out.
Industry leader Hyundai Motors still seems to want to go it alone, without foreign help, but even here an eventual foreign partnership isn't ruled out.
The area is also home to major operations of other car companies such as Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, Suzuki, and Mitsubishi, it noted.
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But when Mercedes-Benz has one of its biggest recalls ever in 2005, and former bargain-basement-brand Hyundai continues its steady climb up quality surveys, it becomes clear that the old prejudices are just that -- old.
Steve Shannon, vice president of marketing for Hyundai's American division, says that while Hyundai has used focus-group testing to help it select and shape its Super Bowl ads for several years this year it went even further and put its two big game spots through an additional focus group test that was done online.
Hyundai, South Korea's top carmaker, had warned it was facing severe disruption to production.
In a statement, Hyundai, which has its headquarters in South Korea, said it "deeply and sincerely apologises for the offensive viral video".
"It's impossible that we are propping up Hyundai companies, " insists Lee.
Half the American auto industry is foreign nameplates, and it's companies like Toyota and Honda and Hyundai and Nissan that are building cars in the United States.
That is because Hyundai scored so big three years ago by showing Americans that it identified with their financial pain during the depths of the Great Recession.
FORBES: Hyundai, Kia May Find Mileage Fiasco Hurts Brands in U.S.
Finally, despite capacity constraints, Genesis Coupe annual sales have exceeded those of its Infiniti G37 premium coupe competitor since its introduction to the premium sport coupe segment in 2009, and it remains one of the fastest turning vehicles in Hyundai's lineup.
ENGADGET: Hyundai unveils HCD-14 Genesis concept: suicide doors, gesture and eye controls
Hyundai wouldn't be rekindling Henry Ford's vision if it didn't see it as a way to profit.
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