S Korean suppliers to ask court for Ssangyong Motor's liquidation

• Source: xinhua
• [08:18 July 15 2009]
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Ssangyong Motor Co.'s parts suppliers said Monday they will ask a local bankruptcy court for the automaker's liquidation unless its workers stop the strike by end-July.

"Unless operations return to the normal state by the end of this month, we will urge that the bankruptcy court should push for the company's liquidation," said Choi Byung-hoon, head of the group that comprises some 600 suppliers for Ssangyong.

According to Choi, Ssangyong's suppliers were damaged by some 1,000 laid-off workers' prolonged strike, which has put its only assembly plant in a production halt since May 21.

Amid the strike, the bankruptcy court last week ordered a local accounting firm to reassess the saving value of Ssangyong, taking into account how much the strike has harmed the carmaker's value as an ongoing entity.

If the accounting firm's new investigation finds the liquidating value exceeds the saving benefit, the company will go through a liquidation process, a court-appointed manager at Ssangyong said.

Ssangyong in late June reported that its auto sales plunged 73.9 percent during the first half of 2009 from the same period last year.

Ssangyong, a former affiliate of Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC) was abandoned by its parent company in January as SAIC decided to stop making any major effort to save its affiliate.