Renault Korea backlash: carmaker embroiled in misandry row over finger gesture in video

Carmaker Renault Korea Motors is embroiled in a misandry backlash online sparked by promotional content, which has drawn attention to a particular pinching gesture in South Korean society deemed offensive.

The episode underscores deepening gender conflict among the country’s young men and women, a phenomenon blamed on high unemployment and the widespread men-only online communities hostile to the opposite sex.

The Korean unit of French automobile group Renault S.A. has apologised and suspended a female employee who sparked the controversy by making the hand signal in a commercial clip.

Multiple videos reportedly showed footage of the employee placing her thumb and index finger close to each other, a gesture in Korean society used to mock the size of male genitals.

“We sincerely apologise once again to everyone who felt discomfort due to our recent internal promotional content,” Renault Korea wrote on its YouTube channel’s community bulletin board on Sunday.

“Based on the findings of the investigation, we will take appropriate follow-up actions. Until the committee reaches its conclusion, the individual in question has been suspended from her duties.”

The employee in question posted a personal statement on the YouTube channel’s community bulletin board over the weekend, saying she “was aware that a certain hand gesture was considered problematic and seen as a hateful move”.

But she said she had not expected the hand gesture to be interpreted in that particular way. Her statement was later removed. The company also blocked access to the videos that had been uploaded on Renault Inside, one of its corporate YouTube channels.

Renault Korea said it had launched an internal investigative committee and was also preparing measures to