This undated photo shows a street advertisement showing homosexual people kissing each other. Yonhap

A giant-screen advertisement showing homosexual people kissing and embracing each other was taken down four days after it began airing on the streets of Seoul's southern district of Gangnam due to a series of complaints.

The matchmaking app for homosexual people first appeared on the giant screen set up along the streets of Gangnam's Nonhyeon-dong on Aug. 26 under a contract that calls for the ad's airing at least 100 times a day for one year.

The images showed gay and lesbian couples looking at each other, kissing and embracing.

But the ad was suspended Aug. 30 at the request of the Gangnam Ward government.

"Many complaints were received," a Gangnam Ward official said, adding the office asked for the ad's suspension under related law that bans advertisements that are feared to harm traditional customs with obscene content.

The ad has been replaced with something else promoting another product of the company.

The company expressed frustration.

"We spent quite a lot of money to get the licensing contract for (the app's) operation in the country, but it is like the project has gone belly-up," the company's CEO said. "We had no idea that a project related to sexual minorities would be coldly treated like this in 2024." (Yonhap)