On Tuesday, South Korea’s foreign minister, Chung Eui-Yong, called his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and “expressed regret”.
On Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs had summoned the ambassador of Korea, thus prodding another statement by the Korean carmaker on Tuesday, this time, more unequivocal by condemning the post made by its Pakistani affiliate. Hyundai affiliate Kia also made a similar apology over “unauthorized social media posts” by a dealer based outside the country.
The offensive post has since been removed. The social media unit of Hyundai’s Pakistani affiliate, on February 5, had said that it is remembering the “sacrifices of Kashmiri brothers”, which led to the controversy. Pakistan observes February 5 as Kashmir Solidarity Day. A row erupted a day later on Sunday, when posts on behalf of Hyundai’s Pakistan partner Nishat Group appeared on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
As the outrage on social media refused to fade away, the Indian government stepped in. On Tuesday, the controversy surfaced in Parliament when union minister Piyush Goyal confirmed that the government has directed Hyundai Motor to be more forceful in its apology.
The commerce and industry minister said the government has conveyed to Hyundai the need to be more forceful in its apology. Goyal told the Rajya Sabha that this issue was taken up with the government in Korea and the company concerned.
“They (Hyundai) have already issued a clarification yesterday (Monday). We have also asked them to be more forceful in their unequivocal apology on this issue,” Goyal, who is also the leader of the house in the Rajya Sabha, said.
Before this, on February 6, the Indian ambassador in Seoul contacted the Hyundai headquarters and sought an explanation. It was after the intervention, the offending post by Hyundai’s Pakistani affiliate was removed.
Hyundai Motor India is the second-largest carmaker in India, with sales of close to half a million vehicles with a market share of 16.4% in 2021. The company is also the market leader in the SUV space and among the largest exporters for over a decade.
Together with Kia, it has more than a 20% market share in India, with two manufacturing units in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. In Pakistan, the Korean carmaker, through a distribution tie-up, sells 8,000 cars a year.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs summoned the ambassador of the Republic of Korea and conveyed the strong displeasure of the government on the offensive social media post, ministry spokesperson Arindam Baghchi said.
“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,” he said.
The spokesperson said the Korean foreign minister called India’s external affairs minister on Tuesday morning. While they discussed several issues, the Korean minister also conveyed that “they regretted the offence caused to the people and Government of India by social media post”, he added.
With the governments intervening, Hyundai issued its second statement conveying its deep regret to the people of India and saying that it does not comment on political and religious issues.
Bagchi said while India welcomes investments by foreign companies in various sectors, “it is also expected that such companies or their affiliates will refrain from false and misleading comments on matters of sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
Several verified handles of BJP and VHP members and other popular twitter handles called for the boycott of Hyundai India through tweets on Sunday, adding taglines such as ‘Kashmir Hamara Hi Rahega’ (Kashmir will remain ours).
Social media users have been tagging both Hyundai India and the Korean company’s global twitter handle, along with the car maker’s Pakistan handle.
A spokesperson for Hyundai India said it had “zero tolerance” to such communication. “The unsolicited social media post linking Hyundai Motor India is offending our unparalleled commitment and service. India is second home to the Hyundai brand and we have a zero-tolerance policy towards insensitive communication, and we strongly condemn any such view,” the spokesperson said.
Kia, in a tweet on Tuesday, said it has taken strict measures to avoid misuse of the Kia brand identity and put in place a process to prevent recurrence of such incidents.
According to dealers and officials from FADA, an industry body representing automobile dealers in India, the negative publicity has so far not impacted bookings or sales of Hyundai’s vehicles.
Some social media users in India tweeted that they would “discourage relatives from buying a Hyundai car for buying at upcoming Gudhi Padwa” – a festival considered auspicious for buying. This year, Gudhi Padwa falls in April.
FADA president Vinkesh Gulati told ET: “Dealers have been getting calls (post the outcry on social media). There have been some cancellations, but nothing significant. There is a long waiting period on vehicles, and if a consumer cancels his booking with one company, he would have to wait for the other vehicle too.”
Late last year, ethnic apparel brand Fabindia, skin-care brand Fem, and Ceat Tyres were among the prominent names that came in for huge social media backlash after they released posts involving religion, Indian festivals or culture. Fabindia and Fem withdrew their ads and issued apologies. Previously, jewellery maker Tanishq was mired in a similar controversy when it released an ad involving an interfaith ceremony.
