India puts South Korean envoy on the spot over tweet

New Delhi — India summoned South Korea’s ambassador to express displeasure over a social media post by a Pakistani partner of Hyundai Motor over disputed Kashmir, the Indian foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

The foreign ministers of India and South Korea also spoke by phone as the car company faced a backlash in India from customers incensed by comments expressing solidarity with the people of Kashmir.

South Korean foreign minister Chung Eui-yong expressed his regret during the conversation with Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, an Indian foreign ministry spokesperson said.

India and arch-rival Pakistan control parts of Kashmir but both claim the Himalayan territory in full.

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.

India says Pakistan supports an armed insurrection against New Delhi’s rule in India-controlled Kashmir that broke out in 1990. Pakistan denies the charge and says it only provides diplomatic and moral support for the Kashmiri people.

South Korea’s envoy was called into the Indian foreign office on Monday to register New Delhi’s protest against the posts, Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

Territorial integrity

“The strong displeasure of the government on the unacceptable social media post by Hyundai Pakistan was conveyed to him,” he said. “It was highlighted that this matter concerned India’s territorial integrity on which there could be no compromise. We expect the company to take appropriate action to properly address these issues.”

Earlier on Tuesday Hyundai issued a statement saying it deeply regrets any offence caused to Indians by an “unauthorised” 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 Nishat Group, Pakistan’s largest business conglomerate, did not respond to a request for comment.

Hyundai is India’s second-largest car seller after Maruti Suzuki, selling almost 500,000 vehicles in the country in the last fiscal year and exporting more than a million units, making it India’s largest car exporter.

Hundreds of people on social media demanded the company apologise for being insensitive to India’s concerns. Others said they are cancelling their car orders. 

Hyundai was not the only multinational brand trending on social media in India. There were also calls for boycotts of Atlas Honda, Pizza Hut, Domino’s Pizza and Yum Brands’ KFC after some of their affiliates in Pakistan posted support for people in Kashmir.

KFC India and Domino’s in India apologised for the post on Monday. Atlas Honda could not be reached for a comment despite multiple calls. Pizza Hut in India did not immediately respond to requests for comments. Many of the tweets were unavailable by Tuesday, even though Twitter users continued to post screen shots, keeping the issue as the main trending topic in India over two days this week.

Reuters, Bloomberg