Anchor: South Korean automakers, including Hyundai Motor, have either shut down their production lines or are considering the option amid a shortage of auto parts. The supply squeeze comes as their Chinese subcontractors suspend operations due to the coronavirus outbreak. In response, the South Korean government is rolling out measures to try and minimize the industry's losses.
Choi You Sun reports.

Report: Hyundai Motor on Friday suspended most of its domestic production line, with the exception of its bus manufacturing plant in Jeonju.

Starting Monday, all of the automaker's production will temporarily shut down, and operations will resume with two Ulsan plants on Tuesday, followed by the others on Wednesday.

The decision comes after a Chinese company that supplies the wiring harness Hyundai uses stopped operations due to the coronavirus outbreak.

This is the first time since the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s that the country's biggest automaker by sales has halted production due to a shortage of auto parts.

Hyundai's sister company, Kia Motors, is also suspending production on Monday. The company and its labor union will decide whether to extend the suspension depending on the situation in China.

Other domestic automakers, such as SsangYong Motor, Renault Samsung and GM Korea, have already suspended their plants or are considering reducing output.

In a bid to minimize the automakers' losses, the South Korean government is working with the companies to seek China's approval to resume factory operations on Monday under strict disinfection and protection regulations.

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki vowed on Friday to provide disinfection and protection supplies to the factories in China and to simplify customs clearance once the factories resume, to ensure the parts are delivered without delays.

Seoul will also seek to simplify clearance for parts from Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines and provide financial subsidies to local auto parts makers to expand production lines.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.