hankyoreh

Starting on the evening of Feb. 28

The Chinese government and media have been up in arms in the days since Lotte announced on Feb. 27 the decision to provide a site for a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang hinted strongly at possible retaliatory action from Beijing if the deployment goes ahead, declaring that “all consequences are the US and South Korea’s responsibility.” A piece claiming that “China’s relations with South Korea could conceivably be effectively severed” if THAAD is deployed in South Korea was even posted to the official social media account of the overseas edition of the Chinese Communist Party newspaper People’s Daily. The response shows that the backlash in China if the deployment comes to pass will not be a simple matter.

Criticism must be directed first and foremost at South Korea’s diplomatic and security authorities. It was their incompetence and irresponsibility that put South Korea-China relations in this state after the great strides they had made in various respects in the 25 years since diplomatic ties were established in 1992 - and all of this over a weapon whose effectiveness has not even been properly tested.

The THAAD deployment isn’t complete yet, and catastrophe can still be avoided. The Ministry of National Defense says it plans to deploy THAAD as quickly as possible, but there are a few variables at play. The biggest of these is the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye and the possibility of a new, non-Liberty Korea Party (previously the Saenuri Party) administration taking office. No matter how fast the ministry works, it is unlikely to finish all the procedures while Park is still in office. The right approach now would be to stop and leave the decision for the next administration to make, instead of recklessly setting things in stone now. We also need to watch developments overseas and see what adjustments the new Donald Trump administration in the US and the Xi Jinping government in China make in the direction of North Korea policy. The outcry from villagers in the area surrounding the THAAD site is another factor that can’t be overlooked.

China, for its part, needs to act with greater restraint. As it faces attacks from seemingly every Chinese news outlet, Lotte has in a sense wound up an innocent scapegoat of Seoul and Beijing’s THAAD dispute. Things have now reached the point of a boycott on Lotte products, and Lotte is not in a position where it can overturn its decision simply because it’s prevented from doing business in China. There has also been talk about harassing other targets besides Lotte over THAAD, including South Korean businesses as a whole, trade, and tourism. Such actions may help to vent frustrations, but the damage they do to China’s image internationally and in South Korea will be difficult to come back from.

Here’s hoping Seoul eases up on the speed and leaves the possibility open for overturning its THAAD decision, while China refrains from emotional reprisals. Then maybe both sides can find good ideas for avoiding a catastrophe.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]