Civic group members hold banners urging consumers to join the boycott of Japanese products during a rally in front of a Uniqlo outlet in Sejong, Thursday. Yonhap



By Nam Hyun-woo



Many consumers are still angry over a Uniqlo executive's remark that an ongoing boycott of the brand here "would not last for long," even after the apparel brand Monday issued its second apology.



Industry officials said a slew of Japanese brands operating here have been keeping a low profile since Japan launched trade restrictions on Korea earlier this month, to avoid being targeted by the widespread consumer movement against Japanese products, but Uniqlo ended up becoming the main target after the executive's remark and the "inappropriate" first apology.



FRL Korea, the operator of Uniqlo in Korea, issued a written apology over the remark of Chief Financial Officer Takeshi Okazaki of Fast Retailing, which is the brand's Japanese headquarters, during its earnings announcement in Tokyo on July 11.



In the apology, which was issued under the names Fast Retailing and FRL Korea, Uniqlo said Okazaki intended to say the brand "hopes" the impact of Korean consumers' boycott will not last long, but "insufficiently" expressed that he "thinks the impact will not last long."



"Due to the expression, we failed to deliver our sincerity properly. We sincerely apologize for disturbing many customers," the apology read. Uniqlo posted this apology to its Korean and Japanese websites.



This came after the company suffered a backlash with its first apology. Last week, FRL Korea's PR agency sent a similar apology to reporters who asked for the brand's comment over the CFO's remark, but did not post the apology to its website or social media accounts for the public, triggering greater anger that it "snubbed" the Korean consumers and its Korean unit alone is trying to handle the controversy stemming from the headquarters.



This fueled the domestic boycott on the brand. Seoul Shinmun reported that Uniqlo's sales in Korea have declined nearly 30 percent in the past two weeks, citing a credit card company's tally. Uniqlo refused to comment on its sales.





FRL Korea CEO Bae Woo-jin