Preface
Beginning on 13 May, ROK Foreign Minister Cho Tei-yeol came to the mainland for a two-day visit, which was also the ROK's first visit to China after six and a half years of tense Sino-ROK relations.
Before leaving, Cho also said that this visit will promote new development between the two countries, but in recent years, South Korea has begun to "find trouble" non-stop, and even said that only the mainland will go to Seoul first, and Yoon Suk-yeol will consider visiting China.
However, they didn't wait for the mainland to look for him, and now they lowered their heads first, sent someone to visit China, and slapped themselves in the face, not because Yin Xiyue, as the leader, was really coming to an end.
Reference: Xinhua News Agency, May 14, 2024 -- Wang Yi held talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Doi-yeol
Turmoil in South Korea
We all know that the harvest of the yen in the United States has begun, and the yen has unexpectedly begun to depreciate sharply, but in fact, the depreciation of the Korean won is also very fast.
As of the 8th of this month, the South Korean won has fallen by more than 5% against the US dollar, which is worse than the performance of the yen in the market.
In April, the exchange rate of the won fell below 1,400, and even though South Korea has begun to intervene in the market to curb the depreciation of the won, it is still not improving.
As the won continues to fall, the cost of South Korea's import business has increased, and Korean companies not only need to spend a lot of money to buy the raw materials they need, but also face external competition to reduce prices.
Under the Fed's pause, the won can only recover, but it is still not as good as in the past.
Reference: Global Times, May 09, 2024 – Currency depreciation has prompted many Asian countries to respond urgently
In addition to the currency crisis, South Korea's proud shipbuilding industry has also been surpassed by the mainland.
In the early years, South Korea's shipbuilding industry has been at the forefront of the world, whether it is the external shape or the internal technology, it is very good, and South Korea's shipbuilding industry has always been one of the country's pillar industries.
But since the mainland's shipbuilding industry began to take off and rise, South Korea has been competing with the mainland to see who is the "boss" of the shipbuilding industry.
It's just that when the mainland is developing at a high speed, South Korea's shipbuilding orders have begun to decline, and at the same price, there are many national enterprises that choose mainland factories for cooperation.
Since the beginning of 2021, the mainland's shipbuilding industry has surpassed South Korea and become the world's first, with the mainland's market share approaching 50% that year and nearly 60% of the order volume in 2023.
After entering 2024, the market share of the mainland will continue to rise, completely exceeding the number of orders received by South Korea.
In addition, the mainland shipbuilding industry has received another Saudi order of more than 40 billion yuan, completely surpassing South Korea, and South Korea has increased its shipbuilding cost by more than a little bit in the state of depreciation of the Korean won.
Even if the loan is used for daily maintenance, the high interest rate will make the enterprise unable to support it, so in order to make a profit, the price of Korean ships will have to increase, and the price and high quality will not improve, so there will be fewer people who choose naturally.
No one buys, and in the long run the shipbuilding industry in South Korea will naturally collapse.
Reference: China Shipbuilding Network 2024-05-08 - 91 against 13! China's shipbuilding industry wins! South Korean shipping companies are no longer "angry".
Not only is there turmoil in the economy, but there are also some situations in South Korea's society.
Under Yoon's leadership, South Korea is in an economic dilemma where it can't afford anything, and even though Yoon has promised to control it, it still hasn't worked.
The people's satisfaction with Yoon Suk-yeol has continued to decline, and he has overused his power, and some people have even accused Yoon Suk-yeol of causing the current situation in South Korea to regress.
The recent medical reform, which has attracted the attention of South Korean society, is also one of the reasons for Yoon Suk-yeol's declining public satisfaction.
In order to improve the problem of high salaries but small numbers of doctors in South Korea, South Koreans have serious problems with difficulty in seeing doctors, and in order to improve this problem, Yoon Suk-yeol said that Korean medical schools should increase their enrollment plans.
Such a proposal directly ignited the dissatisfaction of the working doctors, and they started a large-scale strike, but Yoon Suk-yeol turned a blind eye, and even strongly said that the doctors who opposed it could directly resign and pack into the army.
Yoon Suk-yeol's tough attitude made the doctors even more dissatisfied, and the contradictions in society gradually increased.
Global Network2024-05-10——Lee Kar-sung: Feel the changes in public opinion in South Korea in Seoul
Perhaps in order to find a new way out, South Korea took the initiative to visit China regardless of its "face", but it is still unknown whether his initiative can be exchanged for new cooperation, after all, South Korea's current President Yoon Suk-yeol has also done a lot of "anti-China" things.
Anti-Chinese South Korea wants reconciliation?
In the early days of Yoon Suk-yeol's administration, he actually had a good relationship with the mainland, but because of the previous South Korean president, the relationship between the mainland and South Korea has been in a not very good position.
But after Yoon Suk-yeol came to power, he began to show goodwill to the mainland, and we once thought that the South Korean government would continue to be friendly with the mainland, but after Yoon Suk-yeol pretended for a few days, he stopped pretending.
In 2023, Yoon Suk-yeol will sing "American Pie" to the leaders of various countries at the White House, and not only that, but he has also been adopting a bowing style in diplomacy with Japan.
Later, he even said that it was the mainland's reasons that "forced" South Korea and the United States to sign the "Washington Declaration," directly stating that it stood with the United States.
Not only that, but he also strongly stated that it was China that did not support South Korea and took "hostile actions" first, and that South Korea was "forced to do a series of things" only as a last resort.
Even though there are dissatisfaction within South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol still goes his own way, not caring that Sino-South Korean relations may fall into a more awkward situation.
Reference: Global Network 2023-05-04 - Flattering, pro-Japanese and anti-China, Yoon Suk-yeol's diplomacy was criticized!
In addition, Yoon Suk-yeol said in an interview that the Taiwan issue is not an issue between the two sides of the mainland, but a global issue.
Such a statement has made the mainland feel strongly dissatisfied with Yoon Suk-yeol, and there is no connection between Taiwan and South Korea, and openly meddling in the Taiwan issue is undoubtedly a lack of attention to Sino-South Korean relations.
Not only did the mainland express its solemn dissatisfaction, but even the South Korean masses expressed doubts about their president's speech.
Yoon Suk-yeol, who has committed so many "anti-China" acts, now seems to have seen the problems of the United States and wants to re-embrace China's "thigh".
However, the mainland has always taken a hard-line attitude on the Taiwan issue, and if it wants to soften down and re-establish friendship with the mainland, I am afraid that the Yoon Suk-yeol government will not be so simple to do so.
Reference: CPPCC Network 2023-05-07 - Yin Xiyue, you are offside on the Taiwan issue
epilogue
Yoon Suk-yeol is currently in office for two years, but his people's satisfaction has fallen seriously because of his "demonization", and his family has also had problems many times.
If he can't make some more political achievements, I am afraid that the position of president will be smashed by the South Koreans with rotten eggs, and perhaps this is why he is now taking the initiative to bow to China.
Text | ST
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