As a result of a massive diplomatic pressure mounted by Delhi on Seoul, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong on Tuesday called up External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and regretted the offence caused to the people and Government of India by the Hyundai Pakistan’s post on social media supporting Pakistan’s so-called Kashmir Solidarity Day.
Sources told The Daily Guardian that Jaishankar expressed deep anguish over the incident while speaking to his South Korean counterpart on Tuesday morning. “South Korean FM was told to ensure that such a thing does not get repeated in future,” sources add. “Earlier, Indian ambassador in Seoul Sripriya Ranganathan also raised the matter seriously with the South Korean government. Ranganathan also engaged officials at Hyundai headquarters, actually lambasting them over the incident,” sources said. The Ministry of External Affairs also summoned the South Korean envoy and expressed displeasure to him.
Jaishankar said he received a call from South Korean Foreign minister Chung Eui-yong and discussed the “Hyundai matter”. Jaishankar tweeted, “Received a call from ROK FM Chung Eui-yong today. Discussed bilateral and multilateral issues as also the Hyundai matter.”
Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi 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, 6th February 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, Chang Jae-Bok, was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs yesterday 7th February 2022.”
The ministry sought “explanation” from Ambassador Chang Jae-Bok over the social media post put out by Hyundai Pakistan on 5 February—Pakistan’s “so called” Kashmir Solidarity Day.
“The strong displeasure of the government on the unacceptable social media post by Hyundai Pakistan was conveyed to him. 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.
“South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong called the External Affairs Minister this morning (Tuesday). While they discussed several issues, the South Korean Foreign Minister also conveyed that they regretted the offence caused to the people and Government of India by the social media post,” he said.
Meanwhile, 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, he said. 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 5 February, a handle by the name Hyundai Pakistan Official sent out a tweet which called for “remembering the sacrifices” of people in Kashmir and asked for people to stand in support as these people continued to “struggle for freedom”. The same post was also shared on Facebook. However, both the tweet and the Facebook posts were deleted shortly but not before being picked by social media users who called out the company’s posts marking solidarity with Kashmir.
Arindam Bagchi welcomed the statement 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. “India welcomes investments by foreign companies in various sectors. But, it is also expected that such companies or their affiliates will refrain from false and misleading comments on matters of sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said.
Meanwhile, fast food chain KFC India on Monday also posted an apology on its official Twitter handle after screen shots of last year’s posts by KFC Pakistan surfaced on social media which claimed support for “Kashmir Solidarity Day”. “We deeply apologise for a post that was published on some KFC social media channels outside the country. We honour and respect India, and remain steadfast in our commitment to serving all Indians with pride,” KFC India posted on its Twitter handle on Monday.