The government said the two business conglomerates, known as chaebol, would draw up plans by December 15 to implement the swap between Samsung Motors Inc and Daewoo Electronics .

``It is good if Samsung gets rid of its highly risky auto business,'' said analyst Shim Hong-jae at Indosuez WI Carr Securities. ``Samsung can also effectively command 60 per cent of the country's consumer electronics market after the swap.''

Daewoo Motor, which set up full lines of vehicle production by taking over Ssangyong Motor earlier this year, may not need unlisted Samsung Motors' assembly lines, analysts said.

``But Daewoo Group seems to be getting the government's favour in securing fresh financing after accepting the business exchange,'' said Tony Jung, analyst at SG Securities.

Thegovernment can also boast of its success in pushing through a ``big deal'' or business swap, viewed as crucial to the country's corporate restructuring campaign.

``It looks like a win-win situation for everybody,'' said head of research Lee Jeong-ja at HSBC Securities.

But problems were already popping up with angry Daewoo employees attacking the deal, which they said was arranged for political rather than economic reasons.

``Why should the profitable Daewoo Electronics be swapped with the money-losing Samsung Motors ? '' said a Daewoo Electronics spokesman.

Daewoo Electronics has recorded a profit for the past five years. More than 1,000 Samsung workers gathered in front of Samsung Motors headquarters building in Seoul to demand the swap decision be rescinded.

Analysts said the swap deal, made possible after a good deal of government arm-twisting, created a new set of problems.

``Overcapacity and blurred separation of ownership and management will remain unchanged,'' said analyst JonathanDutton at Warburg Dillon Read Securities.

Analysts said the swap could nurture ``moral hazard'' in the country's corporate sector by letting failed managers escape responsibility.

Debt and asset evaluation of the two firms will likely be another knotty issue as Daewoo's overseas operations are complicated and the business future of Samsung Motors looks so uncertain.

Daewoo Electronics had debts of 3.7 trillion won ($3.06 billion) at the end of June against assets of 4.8 trillion won, while Samsung Motors' debts were 3.6 trillion against assets of 4.3 trillion won, analysts said.

``But the true figures will come only after both sets of books are scrutinised,'' said an analyst at Dongwon Economic Research Institute.

Samsung Motors began producing cars nine months ago and now has an annual capacity of about 240,000 units.

Samsung's move into the car business was ill-timed, coinciding with a steep slump in domestic car demand and deepening overcapacity in the global market. The company has sold just41,000 cars through November.

Analysts said Samsung Electronics, the country's largest electronics company, would absorb Daewoo Electronics and would likely spin off the consumer electronics business to focus on semiconductors.

Samsung is the world's largest producer of memory chips.

``It would have been better to let the market mechanism take care of the corporate restructuring,'' said an economist at Korea Institute of Finance. ``But I am afraid we don't have such market forces yet.''