The Hyundai Group (meaning "modern" in Korean) was founded by Chung Ju-yung in 1947 as a construction company and was once South Korea's biggest conglomerate (chaebol). The company was split into five business entities on April 1, 2003 including Hyundai Motor Group, Hyundai Group, Hyundai Department Store Group and Hyundai Development Group. Hyundai is often pronounced incorrectly with 'hun-day' (US) and 'high-oon-die' (UK, Aus) classic examples which stem from advertising campaigns in the US and Australia and a phonetic reading of the English spelling. The correct Korean pronunciation, has 2 syllables and sounds like 'hyun-deh' where 'hyun' rhymes with 'shun'. The exact transliteration into English from Korean (under the current system, revisions take place from time to time) should be "Hyeondae" rather than "Hyundai".
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Before restructuring began in 2000, Hyundai's major areas of activity included shipbuilding, car manufacture, construction, retailing, finance, and electronics. After its founder died in 2001, the component companies of Hyundai were split off into separate companies. Although divested of most of the high-profile Hyundai assets, the Hyundai Group still operates. Its most high-profile operation is Hyundai Asan, involved in numerous investment projects in North Korea. Other prominent assets include Hyundai Elevator, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Hyundai Logistics, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Corporation, Hyundai Construction and Hyundai Securities. The current CEO is Hyun Chung-eun, widow of the late chairman Chung Mong-hun. Hyundai is also known for the manufacturing of motor vehicles in several countries; the U. S. has been a source market for these cars.
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