SEOUL - A South Korean court Monday ordered Hyundai Motor chairman Chung Mong-Koo to pay almost 60 million dollars in damages to his company for loss-making deals.

The Seoul central district court, ruling on a damages suit brought by shareholders, said Chung must pay KRW70 billion ($59.7 million) to compensate for losses caused to the company by his business decisions.

A group of 14 minority shareholders and a non-governmental group called Solidarity for Economic Reform filed suit in 2008 against Chung and Kim Dong-Jin, vice president of parts supplier Hyundai Mobis.

They claimed the executives should pay compensation for the losses which the company suffered in 2001 from its participation in share sales of its affiliates ? Hyundai Airspace and Aircraft Co. and Hyundai Hysco.

"The court has recognized the fact that Chung made Hyundai Motor participate in the share sales to prevent the threats to the Hyundai Group's managerial rights, although it could inflict damage on his company," Yonhap news agency quoted the judges' ruling as saying.

"This is a case that reveals the problem of family-run management that focuses on the interests of major stockholders and the executives of Hyundai Motor," it said.

The court ordered that Kim pay a small percentage of the total damages since he was also responsible.

In 2007 Chung was found guilty of breach of trust and embezzling KRW90 billion (then worth $97 million) in company funds through fraudulent accounting. He was given a three-year suspended prison term.