
Anti-CCP themes ring through rallies against Yoon's impeachment
Animosity toward China, more precisely the Chinese Communist Party, has become a central theme in the recent string of rallies supporting South Korea's suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is currently undergoing his impeachment trial.
Outside the Chinese embassy in Seoul on Friday afternoon, a crowd gathered for a rally protesting Yoon's impeachment under the slogans, "Annihilate communism" and "Get the CCP out of Korea." Intermittent chants of "down with Xi Jinping" could be heard.
One of the organizers of the weekly rally is Kim Jeong-sik, a former youth spokesperson with the ruling People Power Party, who, quoting Yoon, said China was threatening South Korea's sovereignty.
The Democratic Party of Korea's chief spokesperson Rep. Jo Seoung-lae said one of the driving motives behind the rallies opposing Yoon's impeachment appears to be a "red scare."
"I think there are a lot of factors spurring the anti-impeachment rallies. One of them seems to be some fear of the spread of communism," he told reporters Monday, without specifically mentioning China.
The curious link between the anti-China, or anti-CCP, sentiment and Yoon's supporters can be traced to the president's words, according to Moon Heung-ho, director of the Institute of Chinese Studies at Hanyang University in Seoul.
"The president said in his address that it was the Chinese spies," he told The Korea Herald. "When such tales are told by someone in a position of ultimate influence, the top leader of our country, they can resonate far beyond the usual club of extreme supporters."
In his Dec. 12 address, Yoon said he was forced to resort to martial law after the Democratic Party, with its majority in the National Assembly, "threatened national security" by repeatedly obstructing crucial bills like those that would criminalize foreign espionage -- by which the president seemed to mean Chinese espionage in particular.
The president went on to cite the apprehension of Chinese spies last year caught surreptitiously filming South Korean military and intelligence facilities as an example of how the opposition party was undermining the country's national security with its routine obstruction of bills.
"To stop cases like this, I tried to revise the Criminal Code's provisions on espionage. But the opposition in control of the Assembly has stubbornly thwarted it," Yoon said.
Appearing in court, Yoon's top officials have been careful not to associate themselves with the president's views toward China.
At the impeachment hearing on Tuesday, Yoon's defense team appeared to harden the rhetoric on Beijing when they asked Shin Won-sik, Yoon's national security adviser and former defense minister, if he thought the Chinese government was capable of meddling in South Korean politics. Shin declined to answer, saying, "I can't respond to a hypothetical question."
When asked again by one of Yoon's attorneys what he thought of former Democratic Party President Moon Jae-in's "China appeasement policies," Shin replied, "I don't have a response to that."
The People Power Party has distanced itself from Yoon's theories about China's role in the country's elections and the ongoing rallies in front of the Chinese embassy.
Rep. Kim Dai-sik, the party's chief spokesperson, told The Korea Herald that the anti-CCP rallies were "not related to the People Power Party in any official capacity." Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, the party's floor leader, told reporters that the People Power Party "does not support or approve of election denialism."
The demographics of the attendees at the anti-CCP rallies are not yet clear. But "certainly a lot of young people" are showing up, according to Kim Min-soo, the former People Power Party spokesperson, who spoke at one of the rallies near the Chinese embassy.
Kim, who told The Korea Herald he was invited to speak at the rally, was forced to step down as the party's spokesperson last month after he defended Yoon's martial law declaration on a YouTube show.
When asked about the high turnout of young people at the rally, a 33-year-old living in Seoul, who identified himself as a conservative, said it was "not really weird" to him. "My generation grew up watching China's aggressive, expansive foreign ventures," he said.
Although the anti-CCP rallies were "not mainstream," he said a general dislike of China or its ruling party seemed to be growing.
"Just a few years ago, when people protested about China, it was about a certain issue, like when they deported North Korean defectors back to North Korea. Now, it's just about China or the CCP in general," he said.
A 29-year-old graduate student said the rally was "not anti-China." "It's not about ordinary Chinese people. People don't like the CCP, and that's different," he said.
Joo Jae-woo, a professor of Chinese studies at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, said the Chinese embassy recently advised its nationals living in South Korea against participating in political events, following reports some Chinese people were at impeachment rallies.
Joo said it was unusual for the Chinese embassy to issue such a warning. "It can be a sign they view the political situation unfolding in Seoul to be quite serious, and they don't want Chinese people attending or getting involved in the rallies," he said.
In the online space, an army of Beijing-backed commenters, known as the "wumao," were launching a ferocious hate campaign against not only Korea but Japan, according to Joo.
"Young people spend a lot of time online, and they are likely to be more exposed to these hateful sentiments," he said, when asked why more young people may be responding to anti-China talking points.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Korea Herald
7 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Saluting the sacrifice of UNC veterans
Five foreign veterans of the United Nations Command who fought in the 1950-53 Korean War were greeted with a standing ovation from a crowd of over 1,000 at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, where a ceremony was held to mark UN Forces Participation Day, observed annually on July 27. The national day of remembrance to honor the sacrifices and contributions of UN veterans also marks the date when the armistice agreement was signed to halt the Korean War in 1953. Throughout the three-year conflict, more than 1.9 million personnel from 22 countries served under the UNC flag, providing combat, medical and logistical support. During the ceremony, the South Korean government posthumously presented the Order of Taegeuk Military Merit, the country's highest military honor, to the late US veteran Fred McGee. From January to November 1952, McGee served in the US Army as a private first class with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. Prime Minister Kim Min-seok entered the venue pushing the wheelchair of a veteran who had difficulty walking. 'Our alliance has grown stronger, and together we will continue moving toward a future of peace and prosperity,' Kim said during his speech. 'Despite the sacrifices made by the UN forces and our own efforts 75 years ago, the pain of division still lingers,' he added, pledging to expand scholarship programs and exchange camps for the descendants of Korean War veterans.


Korea Herald
11 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Yoon's insurrection trial on hold as courts begin summer recess
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol's criminal insurrection trial over his short-lived martial law imposition, will be put on hold, as courts across the country begin a summer recess on Monday. The Seoul Central District Court, where Yoon's trial is being held, is scheduled to enter a two-week annual summer recess period from Monday to Aug. 8, a notice posted on its website showed Sunday. During this period, the court will have a reduced schedule for hearings. For all civil cases, hearings and preparatory and conciliation proceedings will be temporarily halted. Dates for criminal trials without detention and hearings and trials that 'do not have a significant impact on human rights' will not be held in the cited period. However, hearings on motions for provisional attachment or preliminary injunctions of civil cases, reviews of criminal trials for defendants held in custody, detention hearings before arrest and related reviews, will be carried out as scheduled during recess. Other trials and proceedings can also continue, if the court deems it necessary. Other courts nationwide will adopt similar rules during their respective summer recess period, which would take place around late July to mid-August. The Seoul Central District Court has so far held 12 hearings for Yoon's insurrection trial. Yoon has not attended his trial for three consecutive hearings, citing poor health. He is currently detained at the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, just south of the capital. After the two-week recess wraps-up, Yoon faces a separate trial at the Seoul Central District Court, over additional charges of abuse of power and violating the Presidential Records Act, tied to his martial law bid. The charges were brought by the special counsel team led by prosecutor Cho Eun-seok and the first preparatory hearing is scheduled for Aug. 19. The next hearings in the trials of Yoon's aides, including that of former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, will not take place until mid-August. Kim has been charged with insurrection and abuse of power for deploying the military to the National Assembly in an unsuccessful attempt to block lawmakers from voting to overturn Yoon's martial law decree.


Korea Herald
11 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Pro-Yoon lawmaker quizzed in special counsel probe
Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun, a lawmaker of the conservative People Power Party, was quizzed Sunday by investigators looking into influence-peddling allegations against Kim Keon Hee, former President Yoon Suk Yeol's wife. The five-time lawmaker, who was considered one of Yoon Suk Yeol's leading supporters, appeared for questioning at the office of the special counsel leading the investigation. Asked about his stance on claims he had helped Yoon and Kim interfere in the party's nomination process for a National Assembly by-election, he said he would "faithfully cooperate with" the investigation. His questioning follows a search and seizure operation to raid his home and his office at the National Assembly on July 8. The 62-year-old lawmaker, who led the People Power Party's candidate nomination for a June 2022 parliamentary by-election, was allegedly involved in arranging for the People Power Party to choose Kim Young-sun as candidate for a legislative seat representing a constituency in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. The constituency was considered a right-wing stronghold, and Kim was nominated by lawmaker Yoon to run for the by-election as the candidate for the People Power Party. Kim won the election and served in the National Assembly until May 2024. About a month before Yoon's botched martial law attempt, the Democratic Party of Korea revealed in late October a recording of a phone conversation between the former president and Myung Tae-kyun, who was a political consultant for the ex-president during his presidential campaign. In the phone call, Yoon, who won the presidential election in March 2022, told Myung that he had insisted to Rep. Yoon that Kim Young-sun be chosen to run for a parliamentary seat. Myung, who ran an election polling and forecasting company, said he would "never forget kindness." The phone call was recorded just before Yoon was inaugurated in May 2022, according to the Democratic Party. A separate probe by the prosecution in December indicated that Kim had wired some 80 million won ($58,000) in 11 installments in 2022 to Myung, in violation of the Political Funds Act. Both Kim Young-sun and Myung were held awaiting trial for about five months but were released in April. The criminal court cases against them are ongoing. While appearing for questioning Sunday, Yoon declined to answer a reporter's question over whether he had a discussion with the former president about candidate nominations.