Byeongtae Ye, Ssangyong Motor President: "Exploring All Possibilities to Find the Best Solution"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Ssangyong Motor's labor and management, facing difficulties in raising funds due to the withdrawal of new investment plans by major shareholder India Mahindra, put their heads together to seek solutions to overcome the crisis.

On the 8th, according to Ssangyong Motor labor and management, CEO Ye Byeong-tae met with union delegates at the Pyeongtaek plant to explain the recent management situation and said, "Although the company is in a difficult situation, we are looking for the best way."

CEO Ye diagnosed that except for China and Korea, all automobile factories worldwide are in a 'shutdown' (temporary closure) state, and due to the economic downturn, car sales are also sluggish.

He said, "We are keeping all possibilities open and looking for the best solution. In the worst case, we might not be able to pay the full salaries for April and may have to defer some payments, but we will do our best to avoid such a situation."

CEO Ye added that they will strive to realize the various support measures proposed by Mahindra early and overcome the crisis through cooperation with stakeholders such as the Korea Development Bank.

Earlier, on the 3rd, Mahindra decided at a special board meeting not to inject the new capital of 230 billion KRW planned for Ssangyong Motor and instead considered a one-time special fund injection of 40 billion KRW over three months. Mahindra also mentioned supporting Ssangyong Motor's management in seeking new investors, raising concerns about a possible withdrawal from Korea.

Ssangyong Motor emphasized that CEO Ye and Chairman Jeong Il-gwon confirmed via video call with Mahindra CEO Pawan Goenka after the special board meeting that Mahindra has no plans to withdraw.

The union also reported in a newsletter the day before that they received a response that Mahindra would take measures to extend the 30 billion KRW foreign financial institution loan of Ssangyong Motor, which matures on the 20th, through payment guarantees.

On the same day, the Ssangyong Motor union held an emergency temporary delegates' meeting and transitioned to a special emergency countermeasure committee system.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.