NEW DELHI: South Korea has expressed regret over the social media messages posted on the Kashmir issue by the Pakistani partner of Hyundai Motor, the Indian government said on Tuesday.
The Ministry of External Affairs said immediately after the social media post on Sunday the Indian ambassador in Seoul “contacted the Hyundai Headquarters and sought an explanation”.
It said South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong called his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Tuesday and during their talks, which covered various issues, Chung “conveyed that they regretted the offence caused” to India by the social media post.
The controversy erupted after Hyundai Pakistan’s social media accounts posted messages in “support” of Kashmir to mark Pakistan’s annual Kashmir Solidarity Day.
The decades-long dispute over Kashmir is a major source of tension between India and Pakistan.
“The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs yesterday Feb 7th, 2022. The strong displeasure of the Government on the unacceptable social media post by Hyundai Pakistan was conveyed to him,“ the Indian ministry said on Tuesday.
Hyundai issued a statement saying it made its distributor in Pakistan “acutely aware of the inappropriateness of the action” from its social media handles.
“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 post from their accounts,“ the company said.
The Nishat Group, a leading conglomerate, is Hyundai’s partner in Pakistan. - Bernama
