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Turkish minister bashes Hyundai, South Korea

08 April 2011 [10:59] - TODAY.AZ
Turkey's state minister responsible for foreign trade hit back at Hyunadi on Thursday after the company said earlier that further investments in Turkey were unlikely if a free trade agreement between Turkey and South Korea was postponed.

"Nobody should think they can outsmart us," Minister Zafer Çağlayan said in response to Hyundai President Steve S. Yang’s comments. Çağlayan also said Yang’s statements were an attempt to manipulate the situation. “South Korea behaves so on purpose."

Recalling that Turkey supported South Korea during the 1953 war with the North, Çağlayan said, "The statements of the president are by no means convincing, because South Korea is a friend and has been an ally for many years. We left hundreds of martyrs there. Our elders died for the independence of Korea."

Speaking at the Seoul Motor Show that started Friday, Yang told journalists that they might consider other alternatives if the free trade agreement between Turkey and Korea is postponed to a later date.

Noting that the company’s İzmit facility is Hyundai’s first and oldest plant outside South Korea, Yang said: "We have revealed some extensive studies for possible investments including capacity increase and new models. It is almost finished, but we may evaluate other alternatives if the free trade agreement between the two countries is halted."

The Turkish minister further said that South Korea was forgetting what Turkey did for her and was demanding compromises that she cannot get from European countries. "They are telling something over Hyundai. We implement a 10 percent tax for vehicles from South Korea and a 4 percent tax for subsidiary products. It is nothing to exaggerate. They implement an 8 percent tax for everything they import from us."


/Hurriyet Daily News/
URL: http://www.today.az/news/regions/84022.html

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