On July 22, thousands of South Koreans rallied outside China’s Embassy in Seoul to protest what many see as the growing influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in their country.
Filling up the streets, the crowd tore up Chinese flags and portraits of Chinese officials, including Chinese leader Xi Jinping, senior CCP official and ideologist Wang Huning, and China’s ambassador to South Korea, Dai Bing.
Chants of “CCP out, CCP out!” echoed through the night, as protestors threw eggs, bottles and paint cans at the embassy. Some even attempted to climb up the walls of the building using ladders. Flags of South Korea and the U.S. were waved through the protests, along with claims that the recent South Korean election was marred by fraud.
Fears of CCP subversion
The Republic of Korea’s (ROK) current president, Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party, assumed office in June after winning a snap election that followed the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol.
Yoon, a conservative leader who botched an attempt at imposing martial law in December 2024, had taken a hardline stance on North Korea and China, while Lee advocates a more neutral position on the ROK relations with the two authoritarian states.
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In particular, Lee’s detractors see his administration as being overly friendly with Beijing, and as such allowing the CCP’s influence to spread deeper in South Korea.
One protestor said, “Chinese communism is eroding South Korea, and I’m here to protect the people’s sovereignty! The president is acting like a dictator, and ordinary people are kept in the dark. We must wake everyone up through action!”
Another shouted, “We must drive away the red shadow and raise South Korea’s flag high! Holding the Taegukgi [the ROK flag], we stand against betrayal with iron will!”
“South Korea is not China’s vassal state! We won’t let the CCP define our future!” another demonstrator cried.
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Growing anti-China sentiment
In recent years, public sentiment in South Korea against both the CCP and China generally has risen sharply. After former president Yoon’s arrest for declaring martial law, protests have become rampant in Seoul.
Data from South Korea’s Daily Economic showed that, in 2016, negative public opinion of China was only at 16 percent. However, a later poll by the Pew Research Center showed a tremendous 97 percent of South Koreans dissatisfied with China.
There are fears of potential infiltration of the CCP, which is believed to be meddling in domestic affairs and political events, including Lee Jae-myung’s election. They believe Beijing could be attempting to twist public opinion, education and businesses to disrupt Seoul’s democratic system.
Other than the concerns of CCP political influence, South Koreans have also been furious over the misbehavior of mainland Chinese tourists, who have been reported littering, making noises, skipping queues, taking unauthorized photos in bathhouses, and engaging in other forms of crime.
Policy and investigations
On Aug. 6, the South Korean government announced that Chinese tourists could travel in South Korea without a visa starting Sept. 29 through June 30, 2026.
This loose policy on Chinese visitors had angered more of the South Korean populace, particularly against the leniency of authorities towards foreign visitors.
In one instance, a woman, believed to be Chinese, attacked a taxi driver during an altercation with her boyfriend. The injured driver requested legal action against her, but police told him that she had left the country by then. They stated that foreign criminals are not required to be held in South Korea.
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The incident sparked outrage, with one netizen commenting, ”If a South Korean committed a crime in China, they would have been detained and barred from leaving the country!”
Meanwhile, the CCP had expressed their discontent with the protests, calling them illegal and criticizing the Lee administration for not doing enough to stop them.
On Aug. 10, South Korean police launched an investigation into the right-wing group “Freedom University,” which was involved in organizing the anti-CCP protest, as reported by Yonhap News.
According to the Yonhap report, Article 108 of South Korea’s Criminal Code provides that anyone who insults or defames foreign envoys stationed in the country can face up to three years of imprisonment or detention.
