An employee at Renault Korea makes controversial hand gestures in the carmaker's now-deleted promotional video. Screenshot from YouTube

Renault Korea is feared to suffer a sales fall, as more customers are moving to boycott new vehicles from the carmaker after one of its employees was seen making "misandrist" hand gestures in a promotional video uploaded on its official website, according to company officials, Monday.

The controversy is showing no signs of abating, even after the carmaker issued public apologies. Customers are taking issue with the now-deleted video clips in which a female employee makes repeated hand gestures that resemble the logo of Megalian, a notorious Korean feminist website that is said to symbolize women's hatred directed at men.

The unexpected scandal has hampered the carmaker's corporate image at a critical time when it has to rev up decreasing sales with the much-awaited launch of its latest vehicle for the first time in four years.

Industry officials said the scandal will end up affecting its sales for the newly launched Grand Koleos premium SUV.

"Renault Korea is already showing sluggish sales performance, so the firm should have paid extra attention not to get involved in any controversies that will end up further weakening its footing here," an official from a carmaker here said.

"The lack of new vehicles has always been pointed to as one of the major hurdles for Renault Korea's potential rebound, but the company is now mired in another dispute shortly after the launch of the new model. This will do little good to boost the firm's sales. The company is urged to come up with specific measures to stop such scandals from happening again."

Renault Korea's Grand Koleos SUVs are on display at BEXCO in Busan, June 27. Yonhap

According to data from the company, Renault Korea's combined sales figure reached merely 9,172 for the first five months, down 13.1 percent from the previous year. This is the lowest figure among the firm's major rivals — such as KG Mobility and General Motors Korea — during the same period.

Renault Korea said it has launched an internal probe into the matter to get the facts straight.

"We feel a strong sense of concern and responsibility for causing the controversy regarding our promotional content," an official from the company said. "Renault Korea sincerely apologizes to those who have felt uncomfortable due to the latest incident."

The carmaker also pledged to launch an investigation committee by teaming up with external experts.

"The committee members will consist of not just internal human resource and legal team members, but external experts, so as to find objective and clear facts," the official said. "We have also suspended the staff member from performing any duties until we reach a conclusion in the ongoing investigation."