Ex-leader Yoon ‘messed up relations between China and Korea’published at 10:34 British Summer Time
Yvette Tan and Juna Moon
Reporting from Seoul
A sign seen hanging from a building in the trendy downtown area of Anguk
It’s common during election season in South Korea to see trucks driving around bearing candidates’ faces and blaring their campaign promises.
But one particular truck has generated controversy after many online noticed it was blaring Democratic Party (DP) slogans in Chinese.
Hateful comments quickly spread online, accusing the DP – a party that has been seen as pursuing friendlier relations with China – of being Chinese spies.
Anti-Chinese sentiment has intensified within South Korea’s far-right circles, fuelled by ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol’s repeated claims of Chinese foreign interference in elections.
“Unlike previous administrations, which at least sought some level of balance, this government has pursued an overtly pro-US diplomatic approach, which I think has led to the deterioration of Korea-China relations,” said Prof Ji Byung-geun of Chosun University.
In Anguk, a popular tourist spot in downtown Seoul, a sign claiming that South Korea was the “next Hong Kong” could also be seen.
One Chinese woman told the BBC she had seen comments online asking those from China to “go home” – though she added that she had never experienced hostility in real life.
The BBC spoke to dozens of Chinese people living in Seoul who similarly said there was the occasional hostility online, but hardly ever offline.
One Chinese business owner in his 50s, who declined to be named, said former leader Yoon had “messed up relations between China and South Korea”.
He said he hoped the next presidential candidate would take steps to address this, stressing that it was “important for China and South Korea to get along”.
