Quality-control at the forefront for S. Korea automakers

In the meantime, South Korean automakers have been mum on the Toyota recall crisis, abstaining from making any official comment on it and maintaining to just focus on improving its own quality.

A pedestrian passes by a Toyota showroom in New York, March 2, 2010. It was announced on Monday that Toyota has informed more than 1 million American and Japanese customers of a fault that leads to an oil leak in Toyota vehicles. [Xinhua photo]

Chung Mong-koo, the chairman of the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, however, reportedly told the board's executive meeting, " What happened to Toyota should never happen at Hyundai and Kia," according to local media, as the company heightened its awareness on safety problems.

On the heels of the massive recall by Toyota, Hyundai-Kia, the country's top two carmakers, has started conducting special safety inspections on the car parts provided by its subcontractors.

A company official said they have plans to dispatch inspectors to its 400 to 500 subcontractors, first focusing on auto-part manufacturers but gradually expanding it to a comprehensive safety inspection by the end of the year.

Also, Hyundai-Kia launched an employee training program aimed at enhancing safety awareness, as the official said, "If any customer complaint is filed, we will be ready to respond immediately."

Hyundai's decision last week to voluntarily recall about 47,000 units of its new YF Sonata sedan in the United States and South Korea, followed by Tuesday's decision to recall 515 Tucson sports- utility vehicles in the United States again came as no surprise considering the company's increased alertness over better-quality.

GM Daewoo, South Korea's partner company of the U.S.-based General Motors, has also stressed quality improvement, after hiring Mike Arcamone as their president and CEO last year, who told local media, "What matters most is improving quality-control of auto-parts affiliates in order to ensure overall quality."

Recently, there have been recalls for some of its Lacetti Premiere models after its seatbelt bracket control bolt was omitted from the cars, and Arcamone made actual visits to the plants that left out the missing parts and conducted oversight surveys for quality controls.

For Renault-Samsung, a local automobile brand that is predominantly owned by the French company, prioritizing quality has been their main objective, as shown in their mantra of "Never compromise with quality."

Lim Jong-seong, executive managing director of quality at Renault-Samsung, told local media, "Quality doesn't come from your head; it's born in your heart."

He said quality translates to value, and value equals profit for any business, adding that, "If quality can't create value, something is definitely going awry for the company."

"A lot of companies are struggling by neglecting this fact," Lim added. "It's important to put the customer at the center rather than just vaguely conceptualizing quality-improvement. The company has to make a concerted effort to utilize all of its resources revolve around its customers."

Ssang Yong Motors, South Korea's debt-ridden carmaker, also recognized that in order to normalize its business, increase in sales is inevitable and quality improvement is key to that, as it' s been putting increased pressure on restoring brand-image through heavier quality-control measures.