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| Former Chinese Ambassador to Korea Qiu Guohong speaks during a forum on Sino-Korea relations held at the National Assembly on Seoul's Yeouido in this Nov. 28, 2019, file photo. Yonhap |
By Jung Da-min
The Chinese Embassy in Seoul has denied the allegation that China tried to meddle in Korea's upcoming presidential election.
In a statement released to Korean journalists on Monday, the embassy expressed regret that a JoongAng Ilbo newspaper column published on the same day accused China of trying to intervene in the presidential election based on several Chinese officials' remarks.
"China, like many other countries in the world, is watching the South Korean presidential election, but it has never intervened in it and will never do it," the press release reads. "China's announcing of its position and argument on China-related issues is aimed at protecting its interests and the overall development of Sino-Korea relations, and has nothing to do with the so-called interference in the Korean presidential election."
The Chinese Embassy's reaction came as the JoonAng Ilbo published a column titled, "China's attempt to 'intervene' in Korea's presidential election regretful." In the article written by its chief Beijing correspondent, the journalist cited former Chinese Ambassador to Korea Qiu Guohong's "inappropriate" comments about Korea during an online international academic conference held Jan. 20.
"I hope presidential candidates of Korea would not mention any sensitive issues related to China," Qiu was quoted as saying, adding he believes the bilateral relations between China and Korea should not be ruined by some politicians' remarks.
The JoongAng Ilbo column presented Qiu's remarks as being disrespectful to Korea, pointing out that the former ambassador was indirectly criticizing recent remarks made by Yoon Suk-yeol, the presidential candidate of Korea's main opposition conservative People Power Party (PPP).
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| Yoon Suk-yeol, the presidential candidate of the main opposition conservative People Power Party, speaks during a press conference on his diplomacy and security policies held at party headquarters in Seoul, Monday. Joint Press Corps |
The article also mentioned several other Chinese scholars' remarks about how some conservative politicians in Korea tried to China-bash as a campaign tactic.
Sevral of Yoon's remarks have irked Chinese officials. Yoon said that many young Koreans don't like China, during his visit to the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM Korea) in December.
Back in mid-July of last year, Yoon had said in a JoongAng Ilbo interview that if China wants to insist on withdrawal of a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile shield in Korea ― deployed in 2016 despite China's strong protest ― China should first withdraw the long-range radars deployed near its border.
Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming immediately sent a contribution piece to the same paper to refute Yoon's statements, saying: "China respects Korea's foreign policy. However, the Korea-U.S. alliance should not harm China's interests."
Meanwhile, Yoon presented his diplomacy and security policy pledges, Monday, vowing to "rebuild" Korea's alliance with the U.S. to deal more effectively with both North Korea's nuclear threats and other regional security and economic cooperation issues.
The main opposition candidate said he would seek economic cooperation with China, while focusing on the security alliance with the U.S., amid the growing rivalry between the two global powers.
