The clash between Seoul and Beijing has been simmering for about a year, but it wasn’t until June 8 that an incident occurred that sparked a wave of discontent and mutual accusations. That day, at the invitation of Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Sin Haiming, his residence was visited by South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who leads the Toburo Democratic Party. In agreement with the Chinese side, the entire meeting was broadcast live by the Democratic Party on Youtube. This circumstance was used by the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to express to the Korean public his attitude towards the policy of the conservative government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, headed by President Yun Sok-yeol. For 15 minutes on the air, the ambassador read a speech in Korean in the amount of 10 printed sheets. Much has been said, but the slogan was: “Since the United States exerts large-scale pressure on China, some people seem to be betting that the United States will prevail and the PRC will be defeated. They will regret their decision in the future.” Moreover, the Chinese ambassador acknowledged that bilateral trade, economic and political relations between China and South Korea are not at their best at present, which is regrettable, while blaming the crisis on Seoul.
The ambassador also “treaded” on Japan’s intention to dump water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, which worries many in China and Korea, but at the same time the current government of the Republic of Kazakhstan is ready to accept the Tokyo shares agreement and is trying to convince ordinary Koreans of the need for such concessions.
Although Ambassador Xing did not explicitly say “ROK government/authorities” anywhere in his speech, it was absolutely clear who he was talking about by “people who bet on the victory of the United States”. United and the defeat of China”.
It should be noted that the leader of the opposition Democratic Party “Toburo” and his entourage did not expect such a turn of events, although in general they act from the same positions, condemning too pro- of the current government of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
South Korean officials, who repeatedly stress their willingness to strengthen the alliance with the United States by any means possible and to support Washington’s actions, exploded in a storm of outrage. In the days following Sin and Lee’s meeting, top South Korean officials, including the President of the Republic of Korea, expressed extreme displeasure.
The following day, the Chinese ambassador was summoned to the Korean Foreign Ministry, where ROK Deputy Foreign Minister Chan Ho Chin-sin said that “provocative actions”, public criticism of Seoul’s policy and the use of unacceptable terminology “because it is contrary to established diplomatic norms and the Vienna Convention” are unacceptable and can be considered interference in the internal affairs of the state.
South Korean President Cho Tae-yong, head of the administration’s National Security Office, spoke in similar fashion. The presidential administration added that it was awaiting a reaction from the PRC authorities regarding the behavior of the ambassador. South Korea’s ruling People’s Power Party was even harsher in its assessments, calling it a display of arrogance, noting that the Chinese ambassador had repeatedly made “very provocative statements” before. Foreign Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Pak Chin in a conversation with parliamentarians did not rule out the possibility of declaring the Chinese ambassador persona non grata.
PRC authorities were not embarrassed, however, summoning South Korean Ambassador Chung Jae-ho in response to a conversation at the Chinese Foreign Ministry. The diplomat protested and expressed grave concern over the ROK authorities’ unwarranted reaction to the Chinese ambassador’s meeting with opposition leader Lee Zhe Myung and his comments on Seoul’s policy .
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p class=””>The South Korean diplomat elaborated on Beijing’s approach to China-Korea relations, according to which Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming, in the interest of developing mutual understanding and cooperation between the two countries, should contact and exchange views with representatives of various circles of society of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In addition, the wish was expressed that Seoul look around and take the current problematic points on the bilateral agenda seriously. Beijing simultaneously made it clear that it had no intention of punishing the ambassador by supporting his actions.
Apparently, this greatly angered the South Korean leader, who also decided to speak out publicly. On May 13, ROK President Yun Sok-yeol said he doubted the PRC ambassador’s “mutual respect” for the host country and his level of skill as a diplomat. The head of state called Sin’s outspoken criticism of the ROK authorities’ clearly pro-American policies “inappropriate behavior and remarks that make the South Korean public uncomfortable”, noting that the relations between the two countries “are based on the principle of mutual respect”. and common benefit. »
The South Korean opposition party has also joined in this controversy, which has criticized its government, noting that the country’s current leadership has allowed a serious deterioration in relations with both Beijing and Moscow.
By now, pundits and political scientists on both sides are noting that this emotional skirmish has already gone too far and everyone needs to “calm down”, not succumb to a wisp of anger. According to experts, China and South Korea will not move away and are “doomed” to be neighbors, and therefore it is not worth bringing things to a serious deterioration in relations.
The problem is that this kind of displeasure with China was clearly not accidental, and the statements of the PRC ambassador should not be attributed to his character. It is obvious that such a speech was in preparation and agreed with Beijing. The Chinese, of course, expected the conservatives, led by Yoon Seok-yeol, to adopt a more pro-American stance after they came to power in May 2022, but they hoped that Seoul would nevertheless try to maintain relations as well. with Beijing. However, South Korea has started to actively join all the anti-China initiatives that the United States puts in place. We are talking about limiting the export of high technologies to China, reducing cooperation in the field of semiconductors, developing cooperation with Washington in the field of missile defense, the effective creation of a trilateral military alliance US-ROK-Japan, to join the QUAD format, which in addition to the United States includes Japan, Australia and India, and much more. Chinese leaders were outraged when the President of the Republic of Korea and his entourage made statements about Taiwan’s support for US policy. If Beijing has endured everything, even with displeasure, then the PRC has no intention of forgiving the South Koreans for touching the Taiwan issue.
The Koreans, on the other hand, seem to want to let Beijing know that the era of the old relationship is over, and Seoul intends to do what it sees fit, while having the support of the United States. In this regard, it can be expected that the current diplomatic conflict, even if it ends up being curbed, will not go unnoticed, and relations between China and South Korea will continue to heat up.
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