Debbie Dingell: “Members should know that even as we consider funds in this bill for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the…”

“Members should know that even as we consider funds in this bill for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Government of Korea is backing away from commitments it made to the IMF and to the world community to finally put an end to government directed lending, corporate subsidies, and interference with corporate governance. A new round of bidding was recently announced for Korea's huge bankrupt motor vehicle company, Kia Motors and its affiliate Asia Motors, after Kia's creditors announced that 30 percent of Kia and Asia Motors' $8.7 billion in bad debt would be "forgiven" so that these companies, which some estimate have been bankrupt since 1991, can be sold as viable entities. I might add, the only two non-Korean firms that have expressed an interest in buying Kia are U.S. companies, General Motors and Ford. General Motors and Ford have now withdrawn from the bidding, because they cannot justify the burdensome terms set by the creditors for the sale. As a result, Kia's creditors have now successfully forced all foreign firms out of the bidding, leaving only Korean companies, Samsung, Hyundai and Daewoo, as contenders for Kia. Who is setting these impossible conditions? Principally, it is none other than the Government of Korea once again attempting to financially prop up Kia and to control its fate, even though it told the IMF it would no longer engage in this kind of activity.”