'Regrets offence', S Korean foreign minister tells EAM Jaishankar on Hyundai row

As the controversy over the tweet on Kashmir by a Pakistani Hyundai distributor continues to rage, South Korean foreign minister Chung Eui-yong called up external affairs minister S Jaishankar to express their regret over “the offence” caused to the people and Indian government, said the ministry of external affairs on Tuesday (February 8).

The tweet that caused a furore was posted on Kashmir Solidarity day, which is observed by Pakistan on February 5, was on “remembering the sacrifices” of people in Kashmir and asked for people to support these people who continued to “struggle for freedom”.

The Indian government had also summoned the South Korean envoy to express their displeasure over the “unacceptable tweet”, while the Indian envoy in Seoul also conveyed the same message to the South Korean government, said an official statement.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar also tweeted on Tuesday that he had received a call from South Korean foreign minister Chung Eui-yong and discussed bilateral and multilateral issues and the “Hyundai matter”.

Meanwhile, MEA official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi also tweeted India’s response to media queries on social media post by Hyundai Pakistan on the so-called Kashmir Solidarity Day. He started by saying that “we” had seen a social media post on the so-called Kashmir Solidarity Day made by Hyundai Pakistan. And, immediately after this social media post on Sunday, February 6, 2022, India’s ambassador in Seoul contacted the Hyundai headquarters and sought an explanation.

“The offending post had been removed subsequently,” said Bagchi adding that the ambassador of the Republic of Korea was summoned by the MEA on February 7, 2022.

Our response to media queries on social media post by Hyundai Pakistan on the so called Kashmir Solidarity Day: https://t.co/2QlubQwXJJ https://t.co/S5AkS3wT9a pic.twitter.com/QkkqwIdv64

— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) February 8, 2022

The government had conveyed their strong displeasure about the “unacceptable social media post” by Hyundai Pakistan. It was highlighted that this matter concerned India’s territorial integrity on which there could be no compromise. “We expected the company to take appropriate action to properly address these issues,” Bagchi added.

Also read: Hyundai must be more forceful in apology over Kashmir tweet: Goyal

Further, he added that a statement was also issued by Hyundai Motors conveying its “deep regret” to the people of India and making it clear that it does not comment on the political or religious issues.

Bagchi added that India welcomes investments by foreign companies in various sectors. But, he said, “It is also expected that such companies or their affiliates will refrain from false and misleading comments on matters of sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

On February 5, a handle by the name Hyundai Pakistan Official had posted a tweet which called for “remembering the sacrifices” of people in Kashmir and asked for people to support these people who continued to “struggle for freedom”.  The posts were subsequently deleted but not before it was picked up by social media users who slammed the company and #BoycottHyundai started trending.

Hyundai Motor India quickly swung into action and on Sunday (February 6) had issued a statement saying that the “unsolicited social media post linking Hyundai Motor India” was “offending” the company’s “unparalleled commitment” to the country.

Hyundai Motor statement:#Hyundai #HyundaiIndia pic.twitter.com/Ir5JzjS2XP

— Hyundai India (@HyundaiIndia) February 8, 2022

In a new statement on Tuesday, the company said it was “clearly against” its policy that the an independently-owned distributor in Pakistan made “unauthorised” Kashmir-related social media posts from their own accounts.  In an effort to distance itself from the distributor in Pakistan the statement said that its Indian subsidiary is not associated with the distributor in Pakistan.

“Once the situation was brought to our attention, we made the distributor acutely aware of the inappropriateness of the action. We have since taken measures to ensure the distributor, which misused the Hyundai brand identity, has removed the social media posts and we have put in place processes to prevent a future recurrence,” the company added.

India is an important market for Hyundai, which is the second largest carmaker, after market leader Maruti Suzuki. In 2021, the company had sold 505,033 units in India, up 19.2 per cent on year.