Chinese Embassy in Korea Issues Two Notices
"Do Not Publicly Express Political Opinions"
The Chinese Embassy in Korea urged its nationals residing in the country to "refrain from participating in political activities."
On the 4th, the Chinese Embassy in Korea posted a notice on its WeChat (the Chinese version of KakaoTalk) account stating, "According to the Korean Immigration Control Act, foreign residents in Korea are prohibited from engaging in political activities except in cases stipulated by law," warning that "violations may result in forced deportation." This statement is interpreted as a response to the impeachment support and opposition rallies taking place near the Seoul Hannam-dong residence where President Yoon Seok-yeol stays.
On the morning of the 3rd, as officials from the Corruption Investigation Office entered the presidential residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul, to execute an arrest warrant for President Yoon Seok-yeol, supporters of President Yoon gathered on the road near the residence in Hannam-dong to hold an anti-impeachment rally. Photo by Heo Young-han
The embassy said, "Recently, political demonstrations and rallies have been frequently held in various places in Korea," and urged "our nationals residing in Korea and tourists visiting Korea to keep a distance from places where crowds gather." It further emphasized, "Do not publicly express political opinions," and "pay attention to traffic control caused by rallies and ensure safety."
On the 5th, the embassy posted another notice stating, "The spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly expressed the position of not commenting on Korea's internal affairs," and reiterated, "The embassy continues to urge Chinese nationals residing in Korea to comply with Korean laws and regulations and to pay attention to personal safety."
Meanwhile, some pro-Yoon members of the People Power Party have raised suspicions that Chinese nationals are participating in rallies supporting the impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol.
Kim Min-jeon, considered a leading pro-Yoon figure, shared on her Facebook on the 5th a post from a Yoon supporter that read, "Koreans who support impeachment, please see this. You are siding with the overthrow of the state. Do not watch the news. The media has already been taken over by the yuan and the Chinese-speaking overseas Chinese in Korea. Think for yourselves. From the perspective of Koreans." Kim also posted photos with captions such as "Chinese at impeachment rallies," "This is a university jacket from a Chinese university," and "Most of the impeachment supporters are indeed Chinese." As of 5 p.m. that day, Kim’s post was deleted.
On the same day, Yoo Sang-beom also wrote on Facebook, "As many Chinese participate in the impeachment support rallies and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), openly revealing their pro-North leftist stance, violently assaulting police officers, the 2030 generation is regaining composure." Along with this, he shared a screenshot of a post titled "Why the 2030 generation no longer attends impeachment/insurrection rallies," which was posted by a netizen on Blind. The author said, "At some point, I realized I only heard Chinese around me. At the insurrection and impeachment rallies, half are Joseonjok (ethnic Koreans from China), and the other half are people wearing KCTU armbands who look like homeless or drug addicts. From the moment I realized I was deceived, I stopped going. This is true."
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