India summons South Korea envoy over Hyundai’s Kashmir tweet

NEW DELHI (REUTERS) - 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 (Feb 8).

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

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

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 spokesman Arindam Bagchi said.

“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.”

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

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.

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 Reuters request for comment.

Hyundai is India’s second-largest car seller after Maruti Suzuki, selling close to half a million vehicles in the country in the last fiscal year and exporting over a million units, making it India’s largest car exporters.

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

Indian Twitter user Ashutosh Soni said he has cancelled his booking for Hyundai's Verna sedan that was due to be delivered this month and bought a car from rival Honda Motor instead.

"#BoycottHyundai, that's it!" Mr Soni tweeted from his handle #CA-AshutoshSoni on Sunday, along with a photograph of himself taking delivery of a new Honda car.

"Let's make them bankrupt. India is one of the biggest markets for cars," film-maker and social activist Ashoke Pandit said on Twitter, with a screenshot of a fall in Hyundai's share price on Monday.

While Hyundai's share price fell 1.25 per cent on Monday, weakening more than Seoul's benchmark index, the main factors behind the drop were concerns over record numbers of Covid-19 cases in South Korea and ongoing worries that a global chip shortage could hit production and sales.

The trouble over the social media post highlights the risks global companies face amid rising nationalism in the region.

India and Pakistan have twice gone to war over Muslim-majority Kashmir, and Mr Modi's government has pursued an aggressive policy to combat a militant separatist insurgency that it accuses Pakistan of stoking.

Islamabad denies the charge but says it provides moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people.

Twitter users in India have made similar calls in the past, seeking to boycott Chinese goods in 2020 after a border clash between the two Asian giants that disrupted automobile supply chains and other industries.

Amazon.com has also faced social media backlash in India after its overseas website was found selling goods with faces of Hindu gods and other sacred symbols.