Kia buyer sought

SEOUL: The government of South Korea plans to search for a private buyer for Kia Motors after turning the troubled automaker into a publicly managed company.

A management plan released Wednesday by finance and economic officials showed a strong tendency to try to defuse Kia's economic crisis at a time when the change of administrations is causing a confused political situation.

The auto industry, which has indicated an oversupply of vehicles, will wait until a new administration is seated in February, then proceed with reorganization under government initiative.

Mazda, which has a 7.5 percent interest in Kia, is taking a wait-and-see approach to government management of Korea's No. 2 carmaker.

Mazda temporarily imported Kia autos to Japan and presently is exporting about 200,000 knockdown cars annually, but has all along distanced itself from Kia's crisis, saying it had no intention of coming to the Korean maker's aid.