Complaint raised against Indonesian instant noodle company for using hangul on packaging

Korean netizens raised a complaint against Indomie, an Indonesian noodle company that recently chose NewJeans as its brand ambassador, for allegedly tricking consumers into believing its products are made in Korea by using hangul on its packaging.

NewJeans is the new brand ambassador Korean Ramyeon, a new instant noodle product from Indonesian company Indomie [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Korean netizens raised a complaint against Indomie, an Indonesian noodle company that recently chose NewJeans as its brand ambassador, for allegedly tricking consumers into believing its products are made in Korea by writing ramyeon in the Korean alphabet hangul.

Indomie, Indonesia's largest instant noodle company, launched its "Korean Ramyeon" brand on Oct. 31 and selected ADOR’s girl group NewJeans as its brand ambassador.

The instant noodles, which come in three flavors — Spicy Ramyeon, K-Rose and Fiery Chikin — have the words "Korean Ramyeon" printed in hangul on their packaging.

A Korean netizen recently complained to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) through the government’s petition site, saying the noodles may violate Korea’s intellectual property.

The KIPO replied to the complaint, saying the packaging could confuse local consumers into believing the product was Korean-made.

“But a more professional review would have to be conducted to judge whether it is possible to take legal measures,” the organization said, adding that “legal action, if deemed applicable, should be based on Indonesian local laws.”

“We will bring up the matter during talks with the Indonesian government in the future,” it said.

Other netizens have opposed the complaint, arguing that an Indonesian instant noodle company releasing products with hangul promotes Korea and its culture.

Indomie’s advertising video and shorts featuring NewJeans members have surpassed 1 million views on YouTube collectively less than two weeks since their release.

BY HA SU-YOUNG [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]