Illustration: Liu Xiangya/GT
Since the martial law crisis in South Korea last December, some members of the People Power Party (PPP) have deliberately stoked "anti-China sentiment." According to the Korea Times, since January, some supporters of the impeached president Yoon Suk-yeol have held rallies every Friday evening along Myeongdong Street in central Seoul to stir up anti-China sentiment by spreading rumors about China's alleged involvement in election fraud.
The allegation of "China's interference in South Korea's elections" is nothing more than a "political farce" orchestrated by certain far-right conservatives in South Korea. Recently, absurd claims related to China are often heard. According to the Korea Times, PPP lawmaker Kim Meen-geon did not provide any evidence when she claimed during a rally on January 2 that Chinese nationals were showing support for impeachment "everywhere they go." Additionally, Yoon's defense lawyer absurdly alleged that "the National Election Commission's password '12345' for its electronic system appears to be a connection code between China's central and local governments, as if it were designed to grant access through China." These fabricated and baseless accusations attempt to drag China's name into South Korea's domestic political issues, seeking to shift political attention.
Against the backdrop of Yoon's impeachment, South Korea's far-right conservatives have multiple objectives in smearing China, Zhan Debin, director and professor of the Center for Korean Peninsula Studies at the Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times. According to Zhan, first, they aim to stir up negative sentiments against China within South Korea to gain public resonance and secure more political support for themselves; second, by tarnishing China's image and amplifying the "China threat theory," they seek to garner support from Western powers, particularly the US, for their political agenda in South Korea's domestic affairs.
Behind this farce, in which China is unfairly targeted, lies the uncomfortable truth of the Yoon administration's failures. According to data from the South Korean government organization Statistics Korea in October 2024, under the Yoon administration, long-term unemployment in South Korea hit a 25-year high. The soaring prices of apartments in Seoul intensified the "escape from Seoul" phenomenon, while the mass resignations of medical residents and interns in response to healthcare reforms further compounded the already fragile livelihoods of the people. These problems cannot be concealed by a few "No China" banners.
The smear tactics of certain far-right conservatives in South Korea may have deceived some uninformed citizens. However, the vast majority of the South Korean public is well aware that the PPP's defeat in the parliamentary elections and other issues are the result of its own policies and have nothing to do with China. Previously, the Yoon government actively pursued a "pro-US and distant from China" policy in key areas such as diplomacy, security, and trade to please the US, leading to diplomatic and domestic woes that resulted in declining public support. Zhan believes that "the conspiracy being manufactured by South Korea's far-right conservatives will ultimately trap them in it. The excessive fabrication of baseless anti-China rhetoric will only provoke more resentment and reflection among the South Korean public."
In response to the recent rumors regarding the so-called "China's interference in the ROK's elections," Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Dai Bing wrote on X on Monday that "China has all along upheld the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs." He emphasized that China has always honored its words and opposes relating South Korea's internal issues with China for no reason.
As an amicable and close neighbor, China hopes South Korea will maintain stability, development and prosperity. History will eventually prove that any political opportunism that attempts to shift the blame onto China will, like plastic flowers in a kimchi jar, not withstand the test of time's fermentation.
