Responding to a question on how the unrest in South Korea could affect China-South Korea relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said “I’ll not comment on the ROK’s internal affairs.”
On China-ROK relations, China’s position is consistent, Mao said at the routine press briefing on Monday.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol was placed under a travel ban on Monday by the justice ministry pending an investigation into treason and other charges related to his short-lived imposition of martial law last week, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Experts noted that as political turmoil deepens in South Korea and figures from different parties came to the front stage, the drama is unfolding in an unprecedented manner. The impact of the political wrestling on more issues will gradually emerge, Da Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday.
Yoon was booked as a suspect in investigations by both the police and the prosecution on charges of treason, mutiny and abuse of power raised against the president and multiple senior government and military officials involved in martial law operations, Yonhap reported.
However, on Monday, defense ministry spokesperson Jeon Ha-kyon said, “Legally, (the control of military forces) currently lies with President Yoon as the commander in chief,” when asked whether a suspect in an insurrection case can hold such powers.
The ruling PPP is grappling with internal divisions over how to navigate Yoon’s resignation after his de facto withdrawal from state affairs, according to The Korea Times
The PPP leadership is under growing pressure to present a unified exit plan as opposition parties have vowed to submit a second impeachment motion as early as Wednesday, with plans to table the motion at a plenary session on Thursday.
The main opposition DP on Monday accused the ruling party of staging a “second coup” by clinging to power and refusing to impeach Yoon, AFP reported.
Pressure from the opposition party is mounting and public sentiment is gaining momentum as civic groups staged another candlelight vigil calling for Yoon’s impeachment.
The handling of state affairs has become complicated after the interim plan put the country into an odd situation, and these developments underscored the huge uncertainty in Seoul, which suggests the country is set to go through a painful period and that the political drama is far from over, Zhan Debin, director and professor of the Center for Korean Peninsula Studies at the Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times.
The stock market and tourism industry have already been affected, according to The Korea Times. Zhan predicted that more frictions and divisions within the PPP, between the ruling and opposition parties, between different government departments, and even among the people could emerge.
At the moment, the consequences of the turmoil are still restrained in South Korea, but the drama will inevitably have an impact on the country’s foreign affairs in the longer term, Da said, citing the paralyzed summit-diplomacy and greater diplomatic uncertainty in the longer term.
GT
