Editorial: Lee Jae-myung’s lame excuse after humiliating diplomacy criticism

Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, left, and Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming [Photo provided by National Assembly Press Corps]

China’s diplomatic rudeness that goes beyond its limits day after day must be addressed. It is unacceptable that Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming, a mere director-level official, intimidated our government with blunt remarks like “You will surely regret it”. No wonder there are calls for him to be designated as a diplomatic pariah and deported.

Most of all, Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is largely responsible for setting the stage for such a person to conduct “wolf warrior diplomacy” for his country. Lee should apologize to the public and take responsibility for the situation.

In the meantime, the Chinese Foreign Ministry called in South Korean Ambassador to China Chung Jae-ho on Saturday and told him to deeply reflect on where the problem lies in relations between the two countries, even though his country‘s ambassador created a stir by making offensive remarks in South Korea. This is called the audacity of the thief, an idiomatic expression that means the thief had the audacity to say that the burglary was the house owner’s fault.

We cannot help but ask if it is okay for our ambassador to China to criticize Xi Jinping‘s hegemonic foreign policy. It would probably be 100 percent problematic. It is a hegemonic tyranny that we can do it, but you cannot. China should ask itself why it is not respected, admired or recognized as a leader in the international community, even though it is a leading country in the world in terms of land area, population, economy and military.

Lee Jae-myung acted as the poster child for China’s hegemonic behavior of belittling its neighbors and crushing them with force. It is a diplomatic disaster that humiliated the public and bruised their pride. Faced with the criticism of humiliating diplomacy, he said that “It is more important to find ways of cooperation to better protect national interests.” He is barking up the wrong tree. It is China, not us, that has destroyed cooperative relations between the two countries by treating us like a vassal state and refusing to recognize mutual respect equal sovereignty, which are the basics between countries. His lame excuses, such as “tourists should come to Myeongdong,” under the guise of national interest are laughable. It is time for Lee and the Democratic Party to reflect on their words and actions so that the words “politics stops within national borders” will no longer come out.