(OSEN)

According to actress Song Hye-kyo’s agency UAA on April 11, Song turned down an offer to appear in a Chinese advertisement for Japanese automotive giant Mitsubishi Motor.

The motive behind the actress’s refusal is known to be Mitsubishi Group’s past involvement in forced labor of more than 100,000 Koreans before and during World War II along with their unapologetic stance toward the issue in the present day.

(OSEN)

An associate in the Chinese commercial industry has commented that Song was considered as the group’s top seed model for their Chinese market. Mitsubishi have issued an official apology and promised monetary compensations to both Chinese and American victims, but has maintained a lukewarm attitude regarding victims in Korea.

UAA has also added that Song’s decision was one that “didn’t even require a second glance.”

“Descendants of the Sun” -- satellite network KBS2’s drama of the moment starring actress Song Hye-kyo -- has drawn more than 2.3 billion hits on Chinese online video streaming platform, iQiYi as of April 9.

By Jung Min-kyung (mkj1105@heraldcorp.com)