South Korea on Tuesday expressed regret over a social media post by Hyundai Motor expressing solidarity with so-called struggle for free Kashmir. The post was generated by a Pakistani partner of Hyundai Motor.
Foreign Minister of South Korea Chung Eui-yong called his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar on Tuesday morning and said “they regretted the offence caused to the people and Government of India by the social media post”. The car manufacturer also expressed regret.
India also summoned South Korean envoy here to lodge its protest. The External Affairs Ministry sought “explanation” from Ambassador Chang Jae-Bok over the social media post put out by Hyundai Pakistan on February 5 — Pakistan’s “so called” Kashmir Solidarity Day. Indian envoy in Seoul Ambassador Sripriya Ranganathan too engaged officials at Hyundai headquarters.
Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said here that India’s strong displeasure on the unacceptable social media post by Hyundai Pakistan was conveyed to the Indian Ambassador in Seoul.
“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,” a statement issued by the Ministry said.
“We had seen a social media post on the so-called Kashmir Solidarity Day was made by Hyundai Pakistan. Immediately after this social media post on Sunday, February 6, 2022, our Ambassador in Seoul contacted the Hyundai headquarters and sought an explanation.
The offending post had been removed subsequently.
The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs yesterday 7th February 2022,” it said.
The issue echoed in the Rajya Sabha also on Tuesday with Union Minister Piyush Goyal informing the Elders the Government had asked Hyundai Motors to be more forceful in its unequivocal apology.
Hyundai had issued a clarification after it faced calls for a boycott of its cars, but there have been demands for the company to apologise unequivocally over its Pakistan partner expressing solidarity with the cause of separate Kashmir.
Goyal said the Government has conveyed to the company the need for them to be more forceful in their apology. “This issue has been taken up both with the Government there and the company concerned,” Goyal said.
“They (Hyundai) have already issued a clarification yesterday. We have also asked them to be more forceful in their unequivocal apology on this issue,” he said.
Raising the issue, Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena) said certain companies have been offering support and “posting content on Kashmir solidarity day observed by Pakistan”.
“The content they have posted on their platforms calls for freedom for Kashmir,” she said without naming Hyundai.
Similar posts had also appeared from social media handles linked to Kia Motors’ dealers/ partners in Pakistan. The companies, she said, do business both in India and Pakistan, and “yet have posted content in solidarity with Pakistan over Kashmir”.
“Such posts that are challenging the sovereignty of our country should not be acceptable. It has been surprising that it has been ignored till now. And also keeping in mind that these companies have been flourishing in India for the past many years yet choosing to take stances that are contentious is unacceptable.
Companies must respect the rules and laws of the nation they operate in and should refrain from engaging in political and contentious causes,” she said, demanding that the Government ensures apology by the firms for the “seditious posts, and ensure companies that operate here do not challenge the sovereignty of the country”.
Earlier in the day Hyundai issued a statement saying it deeply regrets any offence caused to Indians by an “unauthorized” tweet from the account of its Pakistan partner.
“As a business policy, Hyundai Motor Company does not comment on political or religious issues in any specific region,” Hyundai said in a Twitter post. The company also said it has got the offending post deleted.
However, this regret came after the company faced calls for a boycott of its cars and the Indian Government curtly telling it to be more forceful in its unequivocal apology.
As tweets from accounts linked to Hyundai and its affiliate Kia Corp expressing solidarity with separate Kashmir kicked a row on Sunday, the South Korean firm on that day responded saying it has “zero-tolerance policy towards insensitive communication and we strongly condemn any such view”.
But, as the furore refused to die down and the Government stepped in, Hyundai on Tuesday issued a statement saying “deeply regretting any offence caused to the people of India by this unofficial social media activity”.
Hyundai Motor Company, it said, “does not comment on political or religious issues in any specific region”.
“Therefore, it is clearly against Hyundai Motor’s policy that the independently-owned distributor in Pakistan made unauthorised Kashmir-related social media posts from their own accounts,” it said, adding it has ensured that the offensive tweets are deleted.