| Demonstrators protest against a visa waiver for Chinese tourists near the Chinese Embassy in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Sept. 19. (Yonhap) |
The Chinese Embassy in Seoul denounced a large protest planned for Friday by a conservative group in South Korea, which claims the South Korean government’s new visa-free entry program for Chinese tourists threatens national security.
In a statement released Thursday on its official website, the embassy said it had “witnessed some Korean politicians spreading false information, and certain far-right groups staging frequent anti-China demonstrations in areas where Chinese tourists gather, such as Myeong-dong and Daerim-dong.”
“The far-right forces are planning another protest in central Seoul tomorrow,” it added. “This is driven by malicious intentions and runs counter to public sentiment.”
The embassy also called on the South Korean government to ensure the safety of Chinese visitors, stressing that “China and South Korea are building a strategic cooperative partnership that must succeed, and attempts by a small political minority will never prevail.”
The statement came hours after a Seoul court ruled in favor of the rally organizers, suspending a police ban on the use of anti-China expressions at the event.
The protest was announced Sept. 17 by a conservative civic group called Freedom-University, which scheduled the rally for Friday, South Korea’s National Foundation Day, or Gaecheonjeol, held every Oct. 3.
Police later ordered the rally banned, citing its discriminatory nature against a specific nationality. The group went to court, claiming the ban violated their freedom of expression.
The Seoul Administrative Court sided with the group, noting that police can only prohibit an assembly within 48 hours of receiving the protest notice, if the rally poses an unlawful threat to public order. It said that these conditions were not met, as police had ordered the ban on Sept. 26, nine days after the rally organizer notified them of the protest.
Freedom-University is known for far-right activism. The group usually draws supporters from South Korea’s conservative bloc, particularly followers of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted following his botched martial law declaration on Dec. 3, 2024.
It has often staged street demonstrations alleging Chinese interference in national elections, chanting slogans such as “China out.”
In an internal notice Wednesday, the group said the Friday rally would focus on “the problems of the government’s visa-free entry policy, the Chinese Communist regime, and other social issues.”
The Friday protest comes as some opposition lawmakers denouncing the government’s visa waiver program for Chinese group tours that began this week.
The main opposition People Power Party lawmakers argued the measure would complicate monitoring of Chinese visitors, citing vulnerabilities exposed by the recent fire at a state-run data center in Daejeon, which paralyzed some government systems.
“The data center fire has suspended issuance of key resident records and crippled many government networks,” Rep. Na Kyung-won, a fifth-term lawmaker of the People Power Party, wrote in a Facebook post.
“The government must postpone a large-scale visa-free entry policy until effective measures are in place to restore the networks and strengthen identity checks and post-entry monitoring.”
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