By Jung Min-ho
KT&G, the country's largest tobacco company, posted an official apology on its webpage Monday for portraying chimpanzees roasting tobacco leaves on the packaging of its ''This Africa'' cigarettes, a design many found offensive.
"We deeply regret that the product marketing was misinterpreted as being racist by some customers. We apologize to everyone who was offended by it," the company said in a statement.
The intention of using the images of the apes was just to express the product's unique characteristic, the company said.
"This Africa has tobacco leaves that are roasted in traditional African style. It gives a unique scent with a mild sweetness,'' it said.
"To emphasize characteristic to customers effectively, we chose a ‘monkey,' which is a symbolic African animal that also has a cheerful image, after trying to find the proper image for its package and advertisement in cooperation with creative experts from outside."
The statement was written in Korean and the company didn't release an English statement, saying it didn't feel the need to since This Africa was not among its export products.
After an outpouring of criticism from here and abroad, the company started taking down the advertisements of This Africa nationwide in the final week of October. It also decided to replace its package with a new one, which is now in the development process.
The African Tobacco Control Alliance, a Pan-African tobacco control organization, had officially demanded KT&G withdraw the brand entirely. It said its members "are deeply offended by KT&G's shameless and insulting use of this mocking imagery."
KT&G vowed to be more considerate in its product development. However, some international residents here expressed their discontent with the follow-up steps and claimed the company should change the product name.
"If they really want to completely get out of this I suggest they remove the name Africa, too," Zambian Mirriam Simasiku, who lives in northern Seoul, said. "It's simple but friendly advice as a well meaning citizen."
"All this I do because I love Korea and would like to see it do things differently, while being true to my identity."
A Sudanese resident said, "We are not stopping till they rebrand their name to something else."
The global cigarette manufacturer exported 37.5 million packages of PINE and ESSE to countries in Africa last year.
KT&G, the country's largest tobacco company, posted an official apology on its webpage Monday for portraying chimpanzees roasting tobacco leaves on the packaging of its ''This Africa'' cigarettes, a design many found offensive.
"We deeply regret that the product marketing was misinterpreted as being racist by some customers. We apologize to everyone who was offended by it," the company said in a statement.
The intention of using the images of the apes was just to express the product's unique characteristic, the company said.
"This Africa has tobacco leaves that are roasted in traditional African style. It gives a unique scent with a mild sweetness,'' it said.
"To emphasize characteristic to customers effectively, we chose a ‘monkey,' which is a symbolic African animal that also has a cheerful image, after trying to find the proper image for its package and advertisement in cooperation with creative experts from outside."
The statement was written in Korean and the company didn't release an English statement, saying it didn't feel the need to since This Africa was not among its export products.
After an outpouring of criticism from here and abroad, the company started taking down the advertisements of This Africa nationwide in the final week of October. It also decided to replace its package with a new one, which is now in the development process.
The African Tobacco Control Alliance, a Pan-African tobacco control organization, had officially demanded KT&G withdraw the brand entirely. It said its members "are deeply offended by KT&G's shameless and insulting use of this mocking imagery."
KT&G vowed to be more considerate in its product development. However, some international residents here expressed their discontent with the follow-up steps and claimed the company should change the product name.
"If they really want to completely get out of this I suggest they remove the name Africa, too," Zambian Mirriam Simasiku, who lives in northern Seoul, said. "It's simple but friendly advice as a well meaning citizen."
"All this I do because I love Korea and would like to see it do things differently, while being true to my identity."
A Sudanese resident said, "We are not stopping till they rebrand their name to something else."
The global cigarette manufacturer exported 37.5 million packages of PINE and ESSE to countries in Africa last year.
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