Shifting blame to China: Political gimmick of deflecting domestic crisis

The constitutional trial regarding the impeachment case against Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol, President of the Republic of Korea (ROK), has concluded all courtroom debates and is awaiting a final ruling. From the perspective of a Chinese scholar, it is regrettable that Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol, in order to justify his imposing of the extraordinary implementation of martial law, did not hesitate to incite political conspiracy theories against China. Nevertheless, both the Chinese government and public have refrained from using terms such as "anger" to avoid harming the overall China-ROK relations.

The decision made on December 3, 2024, to impose extraordinary martial law and prohibit all political activities was hard to believe, even for professionals who have followed the Korean Peninsula affairs for many years. Moreover, when explaining why the ROK would impose martial law, not seen for over 40 years, Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol and his defense team shockingly cited the so-called "Chinese spies" and "Chinese interference in ROK's elections" among the reasons. Unsurprisingly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China expressed being "deeply surprised and dissatisfied," which is also the true feeling of many people in China.

The two allegations made by Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol, claiming that allegedly "Chinese spies" were filming with civilian drones, were ultimately proven to have no connection to espionage activities. Furthermore, the US Forces Korea (USFK) Command publicly refuted the disinformation cited by Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol's legal team in court as "completely false", which alleged that 99 "Chinese spies" were arrested by the USFK on the day the martial law was imposed. This not only "may trigger international disputes", as stated by ROK's media, but also shows to people outside of ROK that Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol's side has lowered the quality of ROK's politics to an unimaginable level in order to help him evade charges. Moreover, throughout the entire constitutional adjudication process, Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol and his legal team, both with backgrounds in law, consistently stuck to the position of making unfounded accusations against China.

The sharp contrast between Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol's judgment on the absurdity of accusing China and his position as the President of the ROK also gives people ample reason to be concerned. The Constitution of the ROK stipulates that the president should notify the parliament without delay when declaring martial law. However, Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol's first martial law decree prohibits all political activities in the ROK, and the troops surrounded the parliament, attempting to arrest elected lawmakers.

What's worse, the series of accusations against China put forward by Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol and his legal team to exonerate him served as a rallying cry for far-right groups and individuals to launch attacks against China. After Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol made accusations against China, political conspiracy theories against China went viral on ROK's streaming media. As the right-wing rallies protested Yoon's impeachment, extreme remarks attacking China also became increasingly common, even Chinese reporters who went to the scene were also threatened. Given the prospect that Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol's removal from office might lead to a setback for conservative political forces, radicals in the far-right political faction in the ROK began to turn violent. Not only was the court attacked by radicals, but on February 14th, there was also a far-right supporter attempted to break into the Chinese Embassy in Seoul and threatened to carry out terrorist attacks. The atmosphere between the two nations was also poisoned by Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol and his legal team in order to deflect domestic criticism.

Fortunately, senior officials from both governments have a clear understanding of the importance of China-ROK relations. Whether it was the phone call between the two foreign ministers after the martial law incident or visit to the ROK's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) by the new Chinese ambassador to the ROK, both sides emphasized the healthy and stable development of the strategic cooperation partnership between China and the ROK, and mentioned the need to strengthen exchanges at all levels and people-to-people interactions. This has anchored the stability of bilateral relations.

As the impeachment trial comes to a close and a final ruling is imminent, it is believed that the alleged "China threat" will not serve as the basis for judging whether the impeachment for initiating martial law is in accordance with the Constitution of the ROK. As a scholar observing Korean Peninsula affairs from China, my personal expectation is that this verdict will not become a justification for intensifying domestic political rivalry, nor in the process, once again victimize China-ROK relations; rather, it will be a historic opportunity for the ROK's politics to shift from royal court-style confrontation towards renewal.

The author is a research fellow at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies. The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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