Repeated anti-China demonstrations in South Korea: President orders response to situation damaging national interests

Conservative groups have been holding anti-China demonstrations in Seoul recently. China is celebrating its National Day holiday from the 1st to the 8th of this month, and many Chinese people are taking advantage of this to visit South Korea.
Amid this, a demonstration was held in central Seoul on the 3rd. The Chinese Embassy in South Korea called on its citizens in South Korea to be mindful of their own safety, and announced that the organizers of the demonstration were a national holiday group.
The South Korean government has imposed a 15-day ban on groups of three or more mainland Chinese tourists since the 29th of last month.
, and launched a program that allows visitors to stay without a visa. Anti-China demonstrations are taking place amid growing expectations that the number of Chinese tourists will increase by more than one million.
On the 2nd of this month, President Lee Jae-myung instructed the relevant ministries and agencies to take measures. In South Korea, under the previous administration of Yoon Seok-yeol, the conservative People Power Party, which was then the ruling party, suffered a major defeat last year.
Discourse that China intervened in April's general election has spread, especially among conservative voters, and Yoon's supporters have been leading anti-China demonstrations.
Regarding China-Korea relations, China was reluctant to accept that former President Yoon placed strengthening cooperation with Japan and the United States at the center of his foreign policy.
Although dissatisfaction has been growing and relations have been cooling, last month South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in Beijing. The two foreign ministers agreed to deepen their strategic partnership.
There is also a growing possibility that President Lee and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a summit in Seoul to coincide with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be held in South Korea at the end of this month.
If the meeting takes place, it will be the first in about 11 years, and attention is focused on whether it will be a catalyst for improving relations. On the 17th of last month, when the foreign ministers' meeting was held in Beijing, far-right groups held an anti-China rally in Seoul, South Korea. Police
According to unofficial estimates, about 50 people gathered. They marched, shouting derogatory terms for Chinese people and holding placards that read, "Oppose voting rights for Chinese people" and "Special preferences for overseas Chinese = reverse discrimination against our own citizens."
These demonstrations have also had a negative impact on the tourism industry, and in Myeongdong, a popular tourist destination in Seoul, the Myeongdong Special Tourism Zone Council requested police last month to stop anti-China demonstrations.
The council expressed concern that "demonstrators are scaring tourists from certain countries by using abusive language and holding up placards, damaging Korea's image and national interests."
On the 29th of last month, South Korea launched a trial program allowing Chinese group tourists to enter the country without a visa. Until June of next year, groups of three or more mainland Chinese tourists can enter the country without a visa for 15 days.
China is having a long National Day holiday from the 1st to the 8th of this month, and with the start of a visa-free policy, there are high hopes for an increase in Chinese tourists visiting Korea.
In response to the repeated anti-China demonstrations, the embassy issued a statement saying, "We sincerely request the South Korean side to thoroughly guarantee the personal safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese nationals in South Korea."
While expressing his gratitude for the kind hospitality shown by the Korean people to Chinese visitors to Korea, he said, "At the same time, we (the Chinese Embassy in Korea) regret that individual Korean politicians are spreading false information, and
"We are keeping a close eye on the fact that some far-right groups have been holding frequent anti-China demonstrations in Myeongdong and Daerim-dong in Seoul, where Chinese tourists gather," he said.
We firmly oppose such actions. We believe that the China-Korea strategic partnership will surely develop positively through joint efforts by all sectors of both countries, and that the interests of a small number of political forces will not be compromised.
President Lee, who took the situation seriously, said at a meeting of his chief of staff on the 2nd that the anti-China demonstrations were "uncultured, low-level, and at the same time, they are a disgrace to the nation."
Such acts should never be tolerated," he said, calling on the relevant ministries and agencies to thoroughly crack down on inciting acts that threaten the safety of foreign tourists and eradicate hate speech.
On the same day, Kim Tae-nyeong, a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, sponsored a bill to amend the "Act on Assembly and Demonstration" to ban hate and inflammatory rallies.
According to the Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, the amendment bill will create a new clause to prohibit the hosting of discriminatory or hateful rallies against former members of a particular race or country, and will also prohibit rallies that insult others and seriously violate their personal rights.
The move is expected to add to the list of people who are subject to the restriction notice. According to the newspaper, Kim expressed concern about the ongoing anti-China demonstrations in the country, saying, "They are rallies that go beyond the scope of constitutional freedom of expression."
Amid this, a demonstration took place in central Seoul on the 3rd, with some participants holding placards reading "China Out."