South Korea’s ruling party is facing allegations of stoking anti-Chinese sentiment in an effort to shield impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol from punishment, a move critics warn could strain relations with Beijing and deepen domestic divides.
Advertisement
Two lawmakers from Yoon’s conservative People Power Party (PPP) sparked controversy by claiming that Chinese residents in South Korea were openly supporting rallies calling for Yoon’s impeachment.
“Chinese people are at the forefront everywhere, supporting impeachment,” PPP lawmaker Kim Min-jeon said at a pro-Yoon rally near the president’s residence last week.
“This impeachment movement reveals its true nature. The essence of this fight is whether we can preserve our liberal democracy or lose it. We must unite to stop them.”
Yoon has remained in his residence near the Han River in Seoul since he was impeached by the National Assembly on December 14, resisting summons and attempts by investigators to arrest him for questioning over his short-lived declaration of martial law on December 3 – widely characterised as a botched self-coup attempt.
Advertisement
He is suspended from duty pending a Constitutional Court ruling on his removal.
