[Yoon Seok-yeol Impeachment] China's Portal Baidu Real-time Search No.1... Local Media Urgent Report

Popular Search Terms on Weibo
In-depth Analysis by Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television
"Impeachment Trials Reveal Chronic Problems in Democracy"

President Yoon Suk-yeol is delivering his final statement at the 11th impeachment trial hearing held at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 25th. 2025.2.25. Photo by the Constitutional Court

On the 4th, local Chinese media rushed to report the Constitutional Court's decision to accept the impeachment of former President Yoon Seok-yeol as breaking news and also covered it in in-depth analysis articles. On Chinese portal sites, terms such as 'Yoon Seok-yeol dismissal' and 'loss of presidential office' briefly topped the real-time search rankings.

The Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency issued a breaking news report at 11:22 a.m. on the same day, almost simultaneously with the Constitutional Court's dismissal ruling. It was faster than major foreign media outlets including those from the United States and Japan.

In a follow-up comprehensive article, Xinhua noted that "former President Yoon became the second sitting president to be dismissed, following former President Park Geun-hye in 2017." The agency also released a separate timeline summarizing key events from Yoon's declaration of martial law on December 3 last year to his dismissal on this day.

China Central Television (CCTV) also displayed breaking news subtitles about the dismissal during its regular broadcast. CCTV sent its special correspondent to the Constitutional Court to report on the dismissal news along with an introduction to South Korea's political and judicial outlook and the atmosphere at the scene.

CCTV pointed out that with former President Yoon dismissed from office and losing immunity from prosecution, investigations are expected to accelerate not only into constitutional violations related to the martial law declaration and abuse of power allegations but also into suspicions involving his wife, Kim Geon-hee. Additionally, CCTV introduced potential presidential candidates from both ruling and opposition parties, noting that a presidential election will be held within 60 days.

On Baidu, China's largest portal, as of 11:45 a.m. that day, 'Yoon Seok-yeol dismissal, loss of presidential office' ranked first in search terms. The second was 'South Korea presidential election within 60 days.' On the Chinese social networking service Weibo, at the same time, 'Yoon Seok-yeol dismissal, loss of presidential office' also ranked first, with four of the top ten popular search terms related to former President Yoon.

Janderbin, Vice President of the Shanghai Korea Peninsula Research Association and Director of the Korea Peninsula Research Center at Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, said in an interview with the Nanfang Daily on the same day, "A series of impeachment trials and criminal trials in recent years have revealed chronic problems in South Korea's democratic system, namely the vulnerability of the power check-and-balance mechanism and the imbalance between public opinion and legal principles," adding, "South Korean politics must find a new balance going forward."