I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
ANALYSIS Korea and China at odds: Lee defends China, calls out Koreans over mutual hostility
President Lee Jae Myung takes a selfie with his wife and Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his wife after the Korea-China summit in Beijing on Jan. 5. Yonhap
By Kang Hyun-kyung
President Lee's defense of China reveals double standard
President Lee Jae Myung said election fraud allegations are fabricated and baseless, accusing those spreading the conspiracy theory of being “out of their minds.” He claimed political extremists are fanning hatred toward China and vowed to hold them accountable for fueling anti-China sentiment.
“China is being accused of involvement in election fraud in Korea. Such nonsensical allegations angered Chinese people and drove them to turn their backs on Korea,” Lee said Wednesday in Shanghai during a luncheon with Cheong Wa dae correspondents.
“These allegations are baseless and unnecessary. I have addressed the issue multiple times at Cabinet meetings, openly criticized those spreading it, and promised to hold them accountable,” he said.
Lee added that Korea is now paying the price, as anti-Korea sentiment in China has led to consumer boycotts of Korean goods and products.
He said his recent summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping would serve as a turning point, arguing that mutual hostility between Koreans and Chinese would begin to subside. He emphasized that he and Xi agreed to make joint efforts to improve public sentiment in both countries.
Lee’s remarks on the role of the summit as a platform to influence public opinion are problematic, if not unrealistic. Public sentiment is a reflection of how people feel and think about a particular issue. It is not something that can be reshaped through a top-down approach, and the government’s role in this regard is inherently limited.
Lee’s assessment of the roots of anti-China sentiment is also flawed. He pointed to baseless election fraud allegations and anti-China hate speech as the main sources of the problem.
However, public opinion surveys suggest otherwise. Polls indicate that anti-China sentiment largely reflects China’s years-long self-interest-driven policies at the expense of its neighbors.
A Kyunghyang Shinmun-Gallup poll released on Jan. 1 found that 72 percent of Koreans hold a negative view of China — a figure far higher than attitudes toward other countries. In the same survey, more than 50 percent of respondents reported having a positive perception of the United States, while 40 percent expressed a negative view.
Anti-China sentiment is particularly strong among millennials and Generation Z. Among respondents aged 18 to 29, nearly 90 percent said they view China negatively, while 81 percent of those in their 30s said the same. The survey was conducted on Dec. 26 and 27 with 1,010 people and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
Other surveys show a similar pattern. A poll conducted by the East Asia Institute, in collaboration with Hankook Research, in February 2025 found that negative perceptions of China rose to 71.5 percent from 63.9 percent a year earlier. The figure was higher among millennials and Gen Z, with 73.2 percent of respondents in their 30s viewing China negatively.
Anti-China sentiment has surged since the outbreak of COVID-19, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan. China’s economic and cultural retaliation following Korea’s deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, disputes over historical narratives, fine dust pollution and other issues have also contributed to growing hostility toward China.
“Millennials and Gen Z generally think China is arrogant and unreasonable,” said Choo Jae-woo, a professor of China studies at Kyung Hee University. “They grew up during China’s Northeast Project.”
The project is a Chinese government-funded research initiative that reexamined China’s northeastern border regions. China claimed that Korea’s ancient kingdoms, such as Goguryeo and Balhae, were part of its own history, triggering a major historical dispute.
Choo added that China’s brutal crackdown on the massive protests in Hong Kong in 2019, which erupted due to the proposed extradition bill, also shaped younger Koreans’ perceptions of China.
He said anti-China sentiment among millennials and Gen Z has little to do with domestic politics, noting that they are generally not interested in political issues.
In this photo taken in March 2025, protestors hold an anti-China rally in front of the Constitutional Court in Seoul. Korea Times file
During the luncheon, Lee became visibly irritated when confronted with a question about anti-China sentiment in Korea. A journalist asked whether Chinese officials were aware of why Koreans harbor suspicions toward China and whether Lee had raised the issue during his summit with Xi. She cited three recent China-related controversies that angered Koreans: the data breach at Coupang, China’s installation of steel structures in the West Sea that triggered a maritime dispute, and the fine dust issue.
“As you said, the suspect responsible for Coupang’s data breach is a Chinese national. So what?” Lee shot back. “If the suspect were Japanese, would Koreans be angry at Japanese people? If there were Americans working at Coupang, would people dislike the United States? But they don’t. Why do people react that way?”
Lee called out his countrymen for what he described as “selective anger.” He then defended China, laying out Beijing’s positions on the three issues.
On fine dust pollution, Lee argued that Koreans had reacted emotionally, praising China for what he described as its rapid transition to renewable energy, which he said would help reduce the problem.
He also lashed out at critics of China’s encroachment in the West Sea, calling them “insane.”
In the West Sea, each country has its own territory, and there is an area known as the Provisional Measures Zone (PMZ). “It would have been best if there were a clear border line drawn somewhere in the middle of the zone to mark each country’s territory. If such a line had existed, there would be no maritime disputes. But for some reason, the area has been left without a clear border under the PMZ,” he said.
Lee said Chinese officials told him the steel structures installed in the waters are fish farms. “South Korea protests China’s unilateral action. There is another structure overseeing the fish farms, which China has promised to withdraw,” he said.
To prevent future maritime disputes, Lee said he proposed that the two countries draw a line down the middle of the PMZ and that working-level talks would be held to discuss related measures.
Lee is attempting to oversimplify complex issues. In foreign policy, such oversimplification can later prove costly. The PMZ was created to manage maritime disputes between the two countries. Because of their geographical proximity, South Korea and China have overlapping exclusive economic zones, making territorial disputes inevitable. In 2001, officials from both countries agreed to establish the PMZ, under which all activities other than fishing are strictly prohibited.
It was China that violated the agreement by installing steel structures beginning in the mid-2010s. To resolve the dispute, China should remove the structures. But Beijing has ignored Seoul’s repeated calls to remove or relocate them from the PMZ, insisting the facilities are related to fishing.
Lee is also showing a double standard regarding mutual hostility between the two nations. He blamed Koreans for anti-China sentiment, while showing sympathy toward China by pointing to election fraud conspiracy theorists as the main force fueling Chinese public fatigue toward Korea. However, his assessment of the roots of Koreans’ dislike of China is not supported by evidence, as public opinion surveys suggest.