Mong-Koo Chung, the eldest living son of founder Ju-Yung Chung, took over as chairman in 1999 as the conglomerate began to split.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Chung Ju Yung, the veteran founder of Hyundai, South Korea's biggest conglomerate, arrived in Pyongyang on June 28th.

ECONOMIST: Korea��s family fortunes

Although officially retired, Hyundai's Chung Ju Yung still exerts strong influence on the group's affairs and few of his managers will challenge his authority.

ECONOMIST: South Korea

Hyundai started out as a construction company in 1947, and founder Chung Ju-Yung and his extended family soon controlled a powerful South Korean business empire consisting of some 50 companies with interests in shipbuilding, automobiles, elevators and securities, among others.

FORBES: Hyundai Motor Revisits Henry Ford's Vision

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.

CNN: A NOVICE AT THE WHEEL

Huge debts forced the car firm to lay off 10, 000 workers, and the group was eventually bailed out in a government-brokered deal in which it was divided into several parts, each run by a different son of its founder, the late Chung Ju-yung, who was forced to resign.

ECONOMIST: Hyundai Motor