India expresses strong displeasure to Korea over Hyundai Pakistan’s tweet
India expresses strong displeasure to Korea over Hyundai Pakistan’s tweet
Korean FM expresses “regret” to Jaishankar
New Delhi, Feb. 8 (Delhi Crown): India summoned the South Korean ambassador and expressed its strong displeasure over the controversy regarding the tweet that came from Korean car-maker Hyundai’s subsidiary in Pakistan referring to “struggle in Kashmir”, said Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi in a statement on Tuesday.
The summoning of the Korean envoy took place on Monday.
On February 5 a Twitter handle “Hyundai Pakistan Official” had posted a tweet calling 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 post was, however, deleted subsequently.
“The ambassador of Korea was summoned by the MEA yesterday. 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,” said an official statement issued by MEA.
It added – “We expected the company to take appropriate action to properly address these issues. Foreign Minister of Korea Chung Eui-yong called External Affairs Minister this morning, and conveyed that they regretted the offence caused to the people and the Government of India by the social media post.”
A statement was issued by Hyundai Motors conveying the deep regret to the people of India and making it clear that it does not comment on the political or religious matter.
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,” added the MEA statement.
Meanwhile, the Indian community in Korea continue to protest there demanding an “apology while bending on knees” (in true Korea style) from Hyundai Global, saying the Korean companies tend to take India and Indians for granted.
President of “Indians in Korea (IIK)” Vikram Dave told “The Delhi Crown” that their protests will continue in Korea till the “apology” comes from the Korean company’s headquarter.
