The last time you had a problem getting warranty to pay for a repair to your Hyundai or Kia, did you wonder what they were doing with their money? Well, maybe they were saving it up, as Americans buy more and more foreign cars.
Just how much money do you think Hyundai would pay for the land on which to build their new headquarters building in Seoul, Korea - land owned by an agency of the South Korean government?
Which number below do you think is closest to what they agreed to pay, just for the land itself mind you, without going over the actual number -
 |
| $18,851 per square foot - a waste of money? |
$500,000?
$1,000,000?
$2,000,000?
$5,000,000?
$10,000,000?
Whatever your guess, you aren't even close. It was so much that when it was announced, Hyundai's stock took a nose dive because they paid three times what the land was said to be worth.
"...nonsense. I was stunned," said the fund manager for an investment company that owned stock in the company, according to Automotive News and reports from ABC News. He was no happier about it than many other stockholders, some of whom probably had no clue how much cash the company was sitting on (maybe more) in its cash reserves.
Would you believe $10 billion? Yup. And their plans for the property will reportedly cost another $6 billion to develop and construct. The size of the land is only 854,030 square feet. Our desk calculator won't go beyond one billion but if our hand written calculations are right, that comes out to $18,851 per square foot of land. Look down at your feet. They take up a little less than one square foot. Are you wearing $18,851 shoes? Apparently Hyundai is.
One commenter at Automotive News joked that Hyundai paid "Triple appraised value for a government owned property. The same government that granted the CEO freedom from prison. No, I see no connection," referring to the conviction of CEO Chung Mong-koo on embezzlement and corruption charges involving a $106 million corporate slush fund. On Korea’s 63rd Independence Day, the ministry of Justice granted a special pardon to eliminate all charges and sentences.
Hyundai sells several dozen model vehicles with prices ranging from $16,000 to $64,000 but you have to sell a lot of cars to plunk down that much just to buy some land to build a glitzy headquarters building.
Got a Hyundai lemon? Got a Kia lemon? And they won't or can't fix it? Give us a call. Getting rid of lemons is what we do. Everyday.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Known nationwide as a leading Lemon Law attorney, Ronald L. Burdge has represented literally thousands of consumers in "lemon" lawsuits and actively co-counsels and coaches other Consumer Law attorneys. From 2005 through 2018, attorney Ronald L. Burdge has been named as the only Lemon Law Ohio Super Lawyer by Law and Politics magazine and Thomson Reuters Corp., Professional Division. Burdge restricts his practice to Lemon Law and Consumer Law cases. The Ohio Super Lawyer results are published annually in the January issue of Cincinnati Magazine. Ronald L. Burdge was named Consumer Law Trial Lawyer of the Year 2004 by the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the nation's largest organization of consumer law private and government attorneys. "Your impact on the auto industry has been magnified many times over because of the trail you blazed for others," stated NACA's Executive Director, Will Ogburn. Burdge has represented thousands of consumers in Ohio, Kentucky and elsewhere since 1978 and is a frequent lecturer to national, state and local Bar Associations and Judicial organizations. Burdge is admitted to Ohio's state and federal courts, Kentucky's state courts, and Indiana's federal courts. Other court admissions are on a "pro hac" temporary, case by cases basis.