The skating dispute crossed over into politics as South Korean presidential candidates—locked in heated campaigns ahead of the election—called out the Olympic host for allegedly stealing medals in a sport the country has proudly dominated for years.
The 2022 South Korean presidential election is scheduled for March 9, and in the run-up, foreign policies are the main topic of debate. Locked in a tight race, the leading candidates clash over their approaches to U.S. and China diplomacies amid growing anti-Beijing sentiment around the globe.
However, the disqualification of two South Korean short-track speed skaters at the Beijing Games last week has fueled further anger among Korean nationals.
The skaters, Hwang Dae-heon and Lee June-seo, were disqualified in the 1,000-meter semifinals on Feb. 7. Hwang is the second-ranked 1,000-meter skater in the world this season and had been a strong medal contender.
Both Hwang and Lee were seemingly distraught by the decisions, blowing through the media zone after their races without stopping to speak with the South Korean journalists waiting to interview them.
The Korean Sport and Olympic Committee has lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over the disqualifications and seeks a sit down with IOC (International Olympic Committee) President Thomas Bach.
South Korean ruling Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung said the Games are “deteriorating into a feast for the Chinese community” and calling on the Chinese authorities to “reflect on the unfair refereeing.”
The conservative People Power Party candidate, Yoon Seok-youl, said he “deeply shares” the athletes’ anger and frustration.
“It is because the South Korea-China relations haven not been achieved based on mutual respect for one another,” Yoon said, saying that anti-CCP sentiment among South Koreans is at an all-time high.
In response, a series of South Korean editorials accused China of abusing its home advantage.
The Kyunghyang Shinmun, a South Korean newspaper, even described Beijing’s behavior as a “thief shouting thief.”
The editorial said that the Olympics is meant to be a sporting event that pursues peace and harmony, but is now plagued by Beijing’s aggressive rhetoric. The article’s analysis points to “[Chinese leader] Xi Jinping’s need to strengthen patriotism and internal unity to secure his third term” amid an intense struggle among different factions in the CCP.
A Korea JoongAng Daily editorial said that instead of reflecting on what caused the growing anti-CCP sentiment, the Chinese embassy in Seoul blamed the South Korean political circles and media.
Instead of defusing the diplomatic tension between nations—an embassy’s general purpose—it chose to publish a statement containing such non-diplomatic, and proactive, language to potentially incite further conflicts, the editorial added, pointing out that this isn’t the first time the Chinese embassy has done this.
Lee proposed “balanced diplomacy” and underlined that South Korea should continue to develop a “strategic cooperative partnership” with China due to its high-level dependence on trade.
Yoon, however, committed to “further strengthen the South Korea-U.S. alliance,” emphasizing that the priority is to “restore relationships with the United States and Japan,” which have been fractured during the current Moon Jae-in administration’s “strategic ambiguity.”
Amid the tight race, at least two polls conducted in early February put Yoon ahead of Lee, widening the once-narrow gap between the two leading candidates.
The Chosun Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper, commented that this upcoming election is a historic moment for South Koreans to choose between the United States and communist China.
“If we choose China, we will become its vassal state. If we choose the United States, we will be its ally. This is why the March 9 presidential election is a historic moment.”
