South Korea-China ties under further strain over envoy's alleged power abuse, as Yoon fights nepotism claims

South Korea's ambassador to China, Chung Jae-ho, finds himself under intense scrutiny amid allegations of staff abuse, a development further straining the already tense relations between the two nations, analysts have said.

The controversy not only tarnishes President Yoon Suk-yeol's pledge to combat nepotism but also casts a shadow over his personal connections, given Chung's close friendship and confidant status with the president.

Reports suggest that Chung stands accused of both bullying and mistreating embassy staff, prompting one attache to file formal complaints with Seoul's foreign ministry, accompanied by audio recordings capturing the ambassador's alleged abusive conduct.

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"When a case of misconduct is detected, it is thoroughly investigated and handled accordingly," foreign ministry spokesman Lim Soo-suk told journalists last week.

"We will also investigate this case thoroughly under this principle", he said.

Chung denied the allegations as "unilateral and groundless".

In a statement released last week, he said he would "restrain myself from further comments" pending the completion of the investigation.

Chung, 64, is a former international relations professor at Seoul National University. He was appointed in June 2022 as the first envoy to China under Yoon's administration.

Chung is widely recognised as Yoon's trusted confidant, with a bond that stretches back decades to when they were high-school classmates in Seoul.

Chung studied at the University of Michigan and led the Seoul National University's China research institute before serving as a key adviser for Yoon on his diplomatic policy.

The ministry's guidelines for combating gapjil (bullying) define it as insulting behaviour such as swearing, verbal abuse, assault, and unnecessary physical contact by a superior to a subordinate.

For serious gapjil cases, the ministry sanctions those responsible or reports to judicial authorities for them to press possible criminal charges against them.

Despite the ministry's emphasis on an impartial investigation, there are doubts about how aggressively it will investigate Chung, according to the independent Hankyoreh newspaper, citing the ambassador's close ties with the president.

China is one of the four major diplomatic partners of the South Korean government, along with the United States, Japan and Russia, and the appointment of ambassadors is highly scrutinised.

Chung had also repeatedly butted heads with South Korean correspondents soon after his appointment, the paper said.

Since September 2022, Chung had refused to take questions from journalists at monthly briefings after one news outlet broke an off-the-record promise and published his remarks under his real name, the Hankyoreh reported.

For more than a year now, he has reportedly been taking questions in advance via email and then reading out his pre-written answers without allowing reporters to ask follow-up questions.

"This gapjil incident couldn't come at a worse time for the two countries," Wi Sung-lac, South Korea's former ambassador to Russia, told This Week in Asia, noting that relations between Seoul and Beijing were at their lowest ebb since 1992.

China and South Korea were unable to hold an anticipated bilateral summit on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in November last year.

Under the conservative government, Seoul has aligned itself more closely with the US and Japan, straining ties with Russia and China.

The Yoon government has especially irritated Beijing for being vocal about tension in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, saying it opposes attempts to change the status quo by force.

Chung allegedly seldom met Chinese foreign ministry authorities since his appointment, using most of his "networking" expenses to meet foreign diplomats and foreign correspondents based in Beijing, the Hankyoreh reported, citing an embassy report submitted to the National Assembly in October last year.

"The tough stance taken by both the South Korean government and Ambassador Chung himself in diplomacy towards China could have made it all the more difficult for South Korean diplomats and Chung himself to meet top Chinese foreign ministry officials", said Wi, the former ambassador.

The Chinese ambassador to Seoul, Xing Haiming, is widely shunned by South Korean government officials after Xing sparked Seoul's anger in June last year over his presumed threats that Seoul would certainly "regret" if it "bets on the US entirely", Wi said.

"Chinese diplomats may refuse to see Chung as a tit-for-tat," Wi said.

Incheon National University Political Science Professor Lee Jun-han said the Chung episode had "dealt a blow to South Korea's image abroad and undercut the morale of professional diplomats" as they saw themselves passed over for outsiders who were close to the power holder.

It comes on the heels of the controversy involving former defence minister Lee Jong-sup, whose appointment as ambassador to Australia last month sparked allegations that the government is seeking to help him escape justice.

Lee has been under investigation for the death of a marine in July last year in North Gyeongsang province during a controversial search and rescue mission. Lee returned home last month and gave up the post less than a month after his appointment.

"The double incidents suggest the foreign ministry is unable to rein in properly political appointees who have been assigned to overseas diplomatic posts," said Kim Joon-hyung, former head of the National Diplomatic Academy.

Choi Jin, head of the think tank Institute of Presidential Leadership, said the purported gapjil incident had inflicted significant harm on national interests amid heightened geopolitical tensions surrounding the Korean peninsula.

"This is another bad news for the ruling conservatives ahead of the elections," Choi said, referring to the crucial April 10 National Assembly elections where the ruling conservative People Power Party was expected to suffer a heavy loss.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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