[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Motor said on May 15 it will offer a new Veloster compact to a 46-year-old man who risked his life to stop a pickup truck driven by an unconscious driver on an expressway early this month.

His heroic act became known after a blackbox video clip went viral on the internet. The man, surnamed Han, sounded warning horns to wake up the driver but he never answered. Then, he cut right in front of the car to stop it, with no one injured. 

Hyundai Veloster

Because he was driving his 17-year-old Hyundai Tuscani sedan, he has been touted as “Tuscani Hero.”

This week, Hyundai contacted Han for compensating his brave act and offered him a new Veloster sedan, priced at about 20 million won (US$18,500) here.

Industry watchers say offering a Veloster to a Tuscani owner has a symbolic meaning. Tuscani debuted back in 2001 as a “home-grown sports car” made by the nation’s largest carmaker. It was Hyundai’s third sporty sedan after Scoupe in 1990 and Tiburon in 1996. Even though the carmaker’s sporty car push has not yet been successful, the current Veloster, launched in 2011, is succeeding the spirit.

In the meantime, LG Group has also decided to award Han a prize as part of its social responsibility campaign. Based on further evaluations on his financial status, the prize will be decided from 10 million won to 500 million won.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)