Business Channel 2007-02-06&08

Chung Mong-koo, the chairman of South Korea's largest carmaker Hyundai Motor, has been handed a three-year jail sentence in what many here believe is a compromise in a raging debate between those who believe that South Korea should improve its international, its corporate¹ governance standards to those at international levels, and those who are worried that any type of guilty verdict could have a negative impact on South Korea's carmaker as well as the South Korean economy. Now the prosecutors² here had been hoping to see a 6-year jail term. They had said that the Hyundai chairman had embezzled³ money to the tune⁴ of about 100 million dollars and ah, many of them had been hoping for that a harsher sentence. Now the defense⁵ attorneys, though on the other hand, had been hoping to see a suspended sentence for the chairman. Er, they've said that he should not serve any jail time, and in fact, they were concerned that any negative impact it would have on the, count on the company itself would actually hinder the growth of Korea's economy as well.

Now at this point, a lot of people are saying that the decision could have a negative, will have a negative impact on Hyundai's operations and this comes at a very difficult time for the carmaker when it was hoping to double its sales of this year. However, that seemed as a, a problem for it going forward just because of the, a labor⁶ problem that they had been facing, they had been facing severe labor issues which have resulted in production losses. Ah, they've also been hurt by the strength of the Korean won which has made a lot of their cars even more expensive compared to their Japanese counterparts.

And the company itself, though, has said that they intend to appeal this decision. They say that the operations of the company will not be affected⁷. However, a lot of people here aren't sure how that would, how that would actually take place just because this is a man who has been credited with turning around the company. He is the one who has been focused on, very much on quality and turned a South Korea's Hyundai Motor from a laughing stock in the industries in the 1990s to the sixth largest carmaker in the world today.

Eunice Yoon, CNN, Seoul.


Vocabulary


embezzle v. If someone embezzles⁸ money that their organization or company has placed in their care, they take it and use it illegally for their own purposes.
Two managers were charged with embezzling⁹ $400,000.

hinder v. to make it difficult for something to develop or succeed
His career has been hindered by injury.

1 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

2 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

3 embezzled   

v.贪污，盗用（公款）( embezzle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The clerk embezzled a thousand pounds from the bank where he worked. 那个职员在他工作的银行里贪污了一千英镑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cashier embezzled ＄ 50,000 from the bank. 出纳员盗用了银行5万美元。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 embezzles   

v.贪污，盗用（公款）( embezzle的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

9 embezzling   

v.贪污，盗用（公款）( embezzle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Accordingly, object embezzling waste to be carried temporarily the schedule of administration. 因此，反对贪污浪费就提上了临时中央政府的议事日程。 来自互联网
• Some were sentenced for taking bribes, others executed for embezzling funds. 有的因受贿而被判刑，有的因侵吞公款而被判处死刑。 来自互联网