South Korea’s Election of Yoon Suk-Yeol Has Displeased Beijing

South Korea's presidential candidate, Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) looks on before televised presidential debate for the forthcoming March 9 presidential election at KBS studio in Seoul, South Korea on March 2, 2022. Just over a week later he was elected as the country’s next president. Jung Yeon-Je/Pool/Getty Images

News analysis  

South Korea’s President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) was not Beijing’s preferred candidate for the recent polls.

The political novice is expected to be tougher on China in contrast to the softer approach taken by his liberal predecessor President Moon Jae-in. The 60-year-old replaces Moon on May 10.

Yoon, a former prosecutor, was elected South Korea’s new president last week in one of the closest fought races in the East Asian nation’s history.

He managed to edge out the ruling Democratic Party’s (DP) Lee Jae-myung with 48.6 percent of the vote to 47.8 percent.

His election victory was confirmed in the early morning of March 10 local time.

South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) celebrates at the party's headquarters in Seoul, South Korea on March 10, 2022. Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

South Korean presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party admits defeat in the election at the party's headquarters in Seoul, South Korea on March 10, 2022. Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

After being elected, Yoon pledged to “reset” ties with China and sternly deal with North Korea’s misbehavior, a hardline posture similar to his conservative predecessors.

He had also campaigned as a pro-Washington and Japan-friendly candidate, differing from his main rival, Lee, of the ruling party.

As world leaders congratulated him on his win, Chinese leader Xi Jinping sent his congratulatory message one day later than most and added that the Chinese side would firmly defend the “original intentions” of the two nations’ diplomatic ties.

An editorial from South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency said Beijing’s use of words, “original intentions,” signified its “dissatisfaction” with the state of affairs between the two nations.

The article pointed out that Beijing used similar words in 2016 when then Park Geun-hye government introduced the THAAD anti-missile defense system, adding Beijing was most likely “alerted” by Yoon’s campaign promise to deploy additional THAAD.

The U.S.-designed and manufactured anti-missile system was installed in South Korea between 2016 and 2017 to defend against North Korea’s missile build-up.

However, Beijing has insisted that the deployment of THAAD affects China’s security and has since adopted a series of countermeasures against South Korea.

In 2016, Xi used the expression “when drinking water, think of its source” when displeased with South Korea’s decision to deploy THAAD. Xi’s choice of words suggested South Korea needed to show “gratitude” toward China.

Xi further referred to the period in the 1900s when Japan colonized Korea, the Korean government-in-exile fled to China and was temporarily based in Shanghai. Chinese rulers at the time provided the Korean provisional government with considerable help.

An editorial from leading South Korean newspaper The Chosun Ilbo described Xi’s reference as “far-fetched,” pointing out that the government that provided Korea help during its time in exile was, in fact, the government of the Republic of China—namely the one that would retreat to Taiwan at the end of the Chinese civil war.

The article added that Beijing’s ultimate goal is to “distance South Korea from the U.S. camp and place it under the influence of China.”

A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD) is seen firing an intercepter in a Department of Defense photo. DoD photo

Prior to his victory, Yoon had openly endorsed the additional deployment of THAAD and purchasing THAAD batteries from the United States as a countermeasure against North Korea.

He criticized the Moon government’s lukewarm attitude toward China, providing Beijing with “excessive accommodation” and undermining its own national interest.

Yoon pointed out that Moon’s “Three No’s” policy has weakened South Korea’s sovereign right to protect its people.

In 2017, in an attempt to appease Beijing, the Moon government outlined three principles for security known as the “Three No’s”: no additional deployment of the U.S. missile system known as THAAD; no participation in a U.S.-led regional missile defense system; and no morphing a trilateral security alliance with the United States and Japan into a military alliance.

Yoon Suk-yeol, the presidential election candidate of South Korea's main opposition People Power Party (PPP), shakes hands with his supporters during his election campaign in Seoul, South Korea, on March 1, 2022. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

Yoon’s Pledges

Yoon said that South Korea should never feel forced to choose between the United States and China. Instead, it must always maintain its principled position, accepting no compromise on its core security interests.

He emphasized that deterrence against North Korean threats is a matter of sovereignty, adding that Seoul should remain open to deploying additional THAAD in proportion to North Korea’s growing missile threat, according to South Korean newspaper Dong-a Ilbo.

“For South Korea to cancel the THAAD deployment, China should first withdraw the long-range radars positioned near South Korea’s border,” Yoon said.

According to Foreign Affairs magazine, Yoon also said, “a deeper alliance with Washington should be the central axis of Seoul’s foreign policy.”

In response to Yoon, the Chinese state-run Global Times published an editorial on March 11 suggesting that “the THAAD system has exceeded the defense needs of South Korea, and it seriously undermined China’s strategic security interests.”

“It’s not conducive to safeguarding peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula, and may also trap South Korea in a more insecure situation,” the article added.

On March 12, Chinese state-owned Beijing Youth Daily also issued an editorial aimed at Yoon, suggesting that South Korea’s best move is to continue walking the tightrope between the two major powers—the U.S. and China—due to its geographic location.

“[If it deviates from the balanced diplomacy], the Yoon government will inevitably be crushed … and will lose its governing foundation internally,” the article said.

China affairs commentator Wen Rui told The Epoch Times that growing anti-Beijing sentiments worldwide are also playing out in South Korea with Yoon being elected to power.

“In the future, there will likely be tension [between South Korea and China], but the tension will not exceed that of the THAAD incident in 2017 because Beijing will face pressure from the whole world,” Wen said.

“China may use their signature ‘wolf warrior diplomacy’ toward South Korea, but it won’t do much in reality,” he added.