The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) today summoned the South Korean ambassador over Hyundai Pakistan’s post on social media supporting Pakistan’s Kashmir Solidarity Day.
MEA official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India’s strong displeasure on the unacceptable social media post by Hyundai Pakistan was conveyed to the Indian Ambassador in Seoul.
The foreign ministers of India and South Korea also spoke by telephone as the car firm faced a backlash in India from customers incensed over the comments expressing solidarity with the people of Kashmir in their struggle for self-determination.
The MEA, in a statement, said, “Ambassador of Republic of Korea was summoned by MEA yesterday. Strong displeasure of government on unacceptable social media post by Hyundai Pakistan was conveyed to him.”
The government further said, “It was highlighted that this matter concerned India’s territorial integrity on which there could be no compromise.”
“Foreign Minister of Republic of Korea Chung Eui-yong called External Affairs Minister this morning. While they discussed several issues, the RoK Foreign Min also conveyed that they regretted the offence caused to the people and Government of India by the social media post,” the MEA added.
On 5 February, Hyundai Pakistan’s social media handles shared posts in solidarity with the “Kashmiri brothers” in their “struggle for freedom”.
Hyundai India had distanced itself from the controversy. In another statement issued on Tuesday, the car manufacturer said it “deeply regretted any offence caused to the people of India by this unofficial social media activity”.
“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 said its independently-owned distributor in Pakistan made “unauthorized” Kashmir-related social media posts from its accounts, and “misused the Hyundai brand identity”.
“We deeply regret any offence caused to the people of India by this unofficial social media activity. We have put in place processes to prevent a future recurrence,” Hyundai said.
Hyundai’s apology comes after it faced calls for a boycott by hundreds of social media users in India, which considers the whole of Kashmir as part of the country. The social media users said the company must apologise for being insensitive to India’s position in the decades-old dispute.
Hyundai is India’s second-largest car seller after Maruti Suzuki, selling close to half a million vehicles in the country in the last fiscal year and exporting over a million units, making it India’s largest car exporter.
The row erupted on Sunday, a day after Pakistan marked the annual Kashmir Solidarity Day. Posts on behalf of Hyundai’s partner, the Nishat Group, appeared on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram commemorating what it described as the sacrifices of Kashmiris struggling for self-determination.
The Nishat Group, Pakistan’s largest business conglomerate, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
India and arch-rival Pakistan rule parts of Kashmir but both claim the Himalayan territory in full. Tens of thousands of people have died since an armed insurrection against New Delhi’s rule in India-controlled Kashmir broke out in 1990.
India says Pakistan supports the insurgency in Kashmir, a charge denied by Islamabad. Pakistan says it only provides diplomatic and moral support for the Kashmiri people.
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