Hyundai Row: South Korean Foreign Minister Regrets 'Kashmir' Remark; MEA Summons Envoy, Wants Action

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posted on 2 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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According to an MEA statement, India conveyed that Hyundai Pakistan’s tweet was unacceptable and that the carmaker must take appropriate action.

In the wake of Hyundai Motor row over ‘Kashmir’ tweet, South Korea’s Foreign Minister Chung Eui-Yong on Tuesday called India’s external affairs minister S Jaishankar and conveyed regrets. According to an MEA statement, India also conveyed that Hyundai Pakistan’s tweet was unacceptable and that the carmaker must take appropriate action.

Received a call from ROK FM Chung Eui-yong today. Discussed bilateral and multilateral issues as also the Hyundai matter.— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 8, 2022

Besides, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has summoned South Korea’s ambassador to India over the controversial tweet posted on February 5 by Hyundai Pakistan Official calling for “remembering the sacrifices” of people in Kashmir. Pakistan marks February 5 as Kashmir Solidarity Day.

The MEA stated that India welcomes investments by foreign companies, but they should refrain from making misleading statements on India’s sovereignty. The Indian ambassador in Seoul has also sought an explanation from the Hyundai headquarters, the MEA statement added.

The controversial tweet, which has now been deleted, drew huge backlash and outrage in India, with politicians and social media users slamming the automobile manufacturer and also calling for a boycott of its products. A day after the tweet was posted, Hyundai India released a statement calling it “unsolicited” and said that it has a “zero-tolerance policy towards insensitive communication”.

“The unsolicited social media post linking Hyundai Motor India is offending our unparalleled commitment and service to this great country. India is second home to the Hyundai brand and we have zero-tolerance policy towards insensitive communication and we strongly condemn any such view,” the statement said.

Hyundai Motor India’s parent company Hyundai Motor also issued a statement saying that it does not comment on political or religious issues as a policy. “As a business policy, Hyundai Motor Company 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 stated.