South Korean President Names New Ambassador to China, With Tough Stance on Beijing

South Korea and China's flags flutter next to Tiananmen Gate in Beijing on Dec. 15, 2017. (Jason Lee/Reuters)

The South Korean presidential office on June 7 announced the appointment of Chung Jae-ho, a professor at Seoul National University, as the new ambassador to China. He is vocal about preserving South Korea’s national identity and not caving under pressure from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Chung, 62, completed a master’s degree in Chinese history from Brown University and a doctorate in political science from the University of Michigan, focusing on China’s central-local relations, foreign policy, and U.S.–China relations.

Prior to teaching at Seoul National University’s Department of Political Affairs and Diplomacy, Chung taught at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology from 1993 to 1996. He also served as a member of the International Advisory Board at the Chinese University of Hong Kong Service Center for Chinese Studies until 2020.

Since 2013, Chung has served as the director of the U.S.–China Relations Program at Seoul National University’s Asia Center. In April, he was dispatched by President Yoon Suk-yeol to visit the United States as a member of the South Korea–U.S. policy consultation delegation.

In an interview with The JoongAng last year, Chung said the strategic ambiguity South Korea adopted against U.S.–China competition “has come to an end,” adding that Seoul “should not be afraid of unresolved foreign affairs, and should ‘speak up’ in its national interests.”

He believes the South Korean government’s fear of the CCP has become a serious problem over the past 10 years, resulting in strategic ambiguity when “faced with major powers.”

Chung added that South Korea has long pursued “short-term economic interests” such as trade, investment, and tourism that easily convert into money but neglect the nation’s long-term image.

“Are [these short-term economic interests] worth promoting and sustainable for the long-term?” Chung said. “Don’t you think the nation’s character, prestige, and reputation must [also] be protected at all costs? Are these not the core national interests?”

Chung pointed out that if South Koreans can reach a broad consensus on “protecting the nation’s security and sovereignty, and not being at the mercy of powerful nations,” it may be able to avoid a “shameful THAAD-like situation.”

THAAD, or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, is a U.S.-designed and manufactured anti-missile system installed in South Korea between 2016 and 2017 to defend against North Korea’s missile build-up. However, Beijing has insisted that the deployment of THAAD affects China’s security and has since adopted a series of countermeasures against South Korea.

In 2017, to appease China, the former Moon Jae-in government outlined three principles for security known as the “Three Nos”: no additional deployment of THAAD; no participation in a U.S.-led regional missile defense system; and no morphing of a trilateral security alliance with the United States and Japan into a military alliance.

On the other hand, President Yoon said that South Korea should never feel forced to choose between the United States and China. Instead, it must always maintain its principled position, accepting no compromise on its core security interests. He emphasized that deterrence against the North Korean threats is a matter of sovereignty and endorsed additional THAAD deployment in proportion to North Korea’s growing missile threat.