[2022 National Audit] Ambassador in China: "No Excuse for Timeline Issue, Apologies... Established Monitoring System"

"After the 20th Party Congress, No Change in US-China Relations"
Regarding Illegal Distribution of Woo Young-woo and Squid Game, "We Appeal Copyright Infringement Frequently"

Ambassador Jeong Jae-ho is speaking at the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee's online audit of the Korean Embassy in China held on the 9th. (Photo by Beijing Correspondents)

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyunjung] At an exhibition held at the National Museum of China, Ambassador Jeong Jae-ho to China apologized, saying "there is no excuse and I am sorry," regarding the "chronology incident" where China excluded Korea's Goguryeo and Balhae from the timeline displayed.

At the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee’s audit of the Korean Embassy in China held via video conference on the 9th, Kim Tae-ho, a member of the People Power Party, strongly demanded correction, stating to Ambassador Jeong, "China's historical distortion and cultural invasion are deeply provoking the emotions of the Korean people." In response, Ambassador Jeong explained, "It is inexcusable that the embassy was unaware of an exhibition lasting nearly 40 days in the jurisdiction, and I apologize to the people. We have actually visited 39 first-class museums and created a system where two people from the cultural center form a team to monitor online weekly."

He added, "We have established a system to know what exhibitions are taking place, and we plan to immediately demand corrections as soon as situations of historical distortion are identified," emphasizing, "There are various issues, exhibitions, historical sites, and textbook problems in many regions, so it is not simple, but we will do our best efforts."

Ambassador Jeong also said, "Since THAAD, negative sentiments between the two countries have continued," and explained, "The embassy is trying to preserve at least minimal friendly feelings between Korea and China." He continued, "We can create a 'Guardian Angel of Friendship' group and hold contests for heartwarming stories between Koreans and Chinese, collecting and awarding them," adding, "These things cannot suddenly create friendly feelings or change perceptions, but someone has to do it little by little."

Regarding the issue of illegal distribution of Korean content within China, Ambassador Jeong responded, "We are making great efforts." In response to a question from Lee Won-wook of the Democratic Party, "Squid Game can be found by searching on Baidu, and recently, Do You Like Brahms? has been rated on content review sites and officially reported, are you aware of this?" he explained, "We have appealed many times to the National Copyright Administration and the Copyright Protection Center regarding copyright infringement," and added, "For Do You Like Brahms?, we deleted about 1,800 cases from local Chinese web links." However, he noted, "Even if deleted, new ones appear."

He also mentioned that he had separately heard the Chinese government's position on the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and made remarks about the need for "dignified diplomacy" in the security field. When independent lawmaker Kim Hong-gul asked, "Have you ever heard the Chinese government's opinion on THAAD?" he replied, "There is media coverage, but it is inappropriate to go into details," and stated, "I have directly heard China's position on THAAD through phone calls." When asked about his view on the opinion that China should not be provoked as cooperation is needed in the security field, Ambassador Jeong said, "I think unnecessary provocation should be avoided, but for future-oriented and dignified diplomacy, it is necessary to speak up on security sovereignty, livelihood, and identity-related matters."

Regarding the North Korea policy summarized as the "Bold Initiative," in response to Democratic Party lawmaker Park Byung-seok's criticism that China has shown no particular reaction, he replied, "We will consult with headquarters and the presidential office on how to persuasively communicate with China and implement it."

In response to a question from Lee Won-wook of the Democratic Party about the US-China and Korea-China relations after the 20th National Congress (Party Congress), which will decide Chinese President Xi Jinping's third term, he predicted, "There will be no major change in the overall US-China relationship," and added, "However, various strategies to win over developing countries and regional nations will be pursued simultaneously."

Regarding the background of the trade deficit with China, Kim Tae-ho of the People Power Party explained, "Due to the slowdown in China's growth caused by COVID-19, consumption has decreased, and China has changed the paradigm of the Korea-China economy through industrial upgrading," and added, "Due to lockdowns, China's logistics have not been smooth, making exports easy but imports difficult. This is not only a Korean problem; Germany and others are also experiencing trade deficits with China." He emphasized, "There is always uncertainty in economic cooperation, and it depends on how to overcome it and develop new growth industries," and stressed, "We must continue to expand Korea-China cooperation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.