Discussed Hyundai matter with South Korea's Foreign Minister: S Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said that he raised the issue of a tweet by Hyundai Pakistan on Kashmir during a call with South Korea's Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong.

Jaishankar took to Twitter to share this news. "Received a call from ROK FM Chung Eui-yong today. Discussed bilateral and multilateral issues as also the Hyundai matter," he wrote.

Received a call from ROK FM Chung Eui-yong today. Discussed bilateral and multilateral issues as also the Hyundai matter.

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 8, 2022

Hyundai is caught in a controversy as its Pakistani social media handles recently posted, "Let us remember the sacrifices of our Kashmiri brothers and stand in support as they continue to struggle for freedom," along with the hashtag #KashmirSolidarityDay. The posts have been deleted now.
 
Meanwhile, in response to media queries on the issue, the Ministry of External Affairs said that India's Ambassador in Seoul had contacted Hyundai headquarters and sought an explanation on the posts. Besides, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea was also summoned by the ministry on Monday on the issue.
 
"The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs yesterday 7th February 2022. 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," the ministry said.

Also Read: Hyundai Pakistan social media handles post on Kashmir, Indians call for boycott
 
Besides, it said, South Korea's Foreign Minister also conveyed that they regretted the offence caused to the people and Government of India by the social media post.
 
"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," it added.
 
Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of South Korea's Hyundai Motor Company.
 
The issue was also taken up in the Parliament on Tuesday. Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the government has asked Hyundai to be more forceful in its apology over the social media posts. "Government has asked company to be more forceful in unequivocal apology," Goyal told the Rajya Sabha in the ongoing Budget session.
 
Meanwhile, Hyundai issued another statement on the issue and said that an independently-owned distributor in Kashmir made the social media posts on Kashmir, and these posts were unauthorised.
 
"As a business policy, Hyundai Motor Company does not comment on political or religious issues in any specific region," it said. "Therefore, it is clearly against Hyundai Motor's policy that the independently-owned distributor in Pakistan made unauthorised Kashmir-related social media posts from their own accounts," it added.

Also Read: Independent Pak distributor made unauthorised post on Kashmir, says Hyundai 

Also Read: 'Be more forceful in apology', Piyush Goyal asks Hyundai over Kashmir posts