China’s 15-Year Effort to “Cultivate Park Geun-hye”… Tracked by a Former Culture Ministry Director

[Choice Times=Min-Ho Han, former Director at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism]

The Chinese Communist Party devoted more than 15 years of persistent and meticulous effort to cultivating former South Korean President Park Geun-hye. That operation ultimately collapsed, however, following North Korea’s hydrogen bomb test in 2016 and Park’s subsequent decision to deploy THAAD. In response, the Chinese Communist Party reacted convulsively with retaliation and moved toward Park Geun-hye’s impeachment.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and China in 1992, South Korea as a whole tilted sharply toward China. Politicians across party lines, the business community, academia, the media, and even the general public praised China’s rise, repeating the refrain that “the United States is a setting sun, while China is a rising sun.” Broadcasters and newspapers alike—KBS, Chosun Ilbo, Maeil Business Newspaper, among others—were busy highlighting China’s development.

This sentiment was not without basis. With the exception of 1992, South Korea recorded trade surpluses with China every year from 1993 to 2022, a full 30 years. In 2013 alone, South Korea’s trade surplus with China reached an extraordinary $62.8 billion. That year’s total trade surplus stood at $62.9 billion, meaning that nearly all of it came from trade with China.

The United States, Japan, and virtually all Western countries also moved closer to China. They invested capital and technology and opened their markets. Western capital amassed enormous wealth by leveraging China’s vast market and its abundant, low-wage, and largely dispute-free labor force. South Korea merely followed this global trend.

Park Geun-hye did as well. The Chinese Communist Party’s “Park Geun-hye cultivation operation” progressed smoothly in this favorable environment, as if propelled by a strong tailwind. As will be discussed later, the Xi Jinping Collection Room established at Seoul National University Library in 2015 was itself a gift Park offered the year before to commemorate Xi Jinping’s visit to South Korea.

“We Want to Learn the Saemaul Movement”

Koo Sang-chan, a former lawmaker regarded as one of Park Geun-hye’s key China connections, stated in 2012 that “China had shown interest in the Saemaul Movement and attempted to make contact with Park shortly after she entered politics in 1998.”

According to Koo, around 2004 the Chinese Communist Party requested materials related to Park Chung-hee and the Saemaul Movement from then–lawmaker Park Geun-hye. Park personally organized the materials, packed them into three ramen boxes, and delivered them to the Chinese side.

In May 2005, the Chinese Communist Party invited Park—then leader of the opposition Grand National Party—to China, where she received lavish treatment from President Hu Jintao, State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, and Wang Jiarui, head of the CCP’s International Department. Park again brought extensive materials on the Saemaul Movement.

Park emphasized to Hu Jintao that restoring trust between North Korea and the United States was crucial and that China’s role was essential to that effort. Hu responded with standard, formulaic remarks, stressing China’s consistent position on denuclearization and a peaceful resolution of the Korean Peninsula issue through dialogue.

Encouraged by this response, Park expressed optimism, saying that hearing China’s top leader pledge to persist in efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue gave her confidence that cooperation among the Six-Party Talks participants could solve the problem.

On the basis of this optimism, Park revisited her long-held vision of linking Korea to China, Russia, and Europe through a trans-Korean railway. She had previously discussed such a plan during a visit to North Korea in May 2002, when she met Kim Jong-il and agreed to reconnect the East Coast railway line, but the plan stalled due to the nuclear issue.

During her 2005 visit to China, Park also delivered a special lecture at Peking University, proposing a “partnership role in the Northeast Asian era” and emphasizing the importance of Korea–China relations. The students responded with enthusiastic applause. Wang Jiarui, learning that Park was suffering from a severe cold, reportedly ordered air conditioners turned off despite the heat and even provided her with cold medicine after a banquet—acts that deeply moved her.

First Meeting with Xi Jinping

In July 2005, Xi Jinping—then Party Secretary of Zhejiang Province—visited South Korea and shared a luncheon with Park, asking in detail about the Saemaul Movement and President Park Chung-hee and requesting related materials. Park generously provided books and documents. Later that year, China launched its “New Socialist Countryside” campaign.

In November 2006, Park again visited China at the invitation of the CCP, delivering a lecture on the Saemaul Movement at the Central Party School, the CCP’s top training institution for senior officials. Some 300 high-ranking officials attended, listening attentively and taking notes. Park became the first Korean to lecture there.

During that visit, she met senior CCP figures including Politburo Standing Committee member Li Changchun, Wang Jiarui of the International Department, and Dai Bingguo, Vice Foreign Minister, discussing cooperation on North Korea’s nuclear issue.

Opposition Leader Treated Like a Head of State

In January 2008, Park visited China again as head of a special envoy delegation for President-elect Lee Myung-bak. She met Hu Jintao, Wang Jiarui, Tang Jiaxuan, and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, conveying the incoming administration’s China policy and discussing bilateral cooperation.

Park later remarked that she was grateful for the warm receptions she received in China and noted Hu’s commitment to elevating bilateral relations across all fields. As in previous visits, Park received head-of-state-level treatment, staying at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. At a January 17 banquet, gold tableware once used during the Qing dynasty was reportedly served, along with lavish dishes.

Fourth Visit as President

In June 2013, Park visited China as president, stressing the importance of China’s role in the success of her North Korea policy and reaffirming her strategy of resolving the nuclear issue through dialogue. She met Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, and NPC Standing Committee Chairman Zhang Dejiang, receiving exceptional hospitality.

Ahead of the visit, South Korea’s Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security signed an MOU with the CCP Central Party School’s Institute of International Strategic Studies, launching a series of strategic dialogues. Similar exchanges later continued under subsequent administrations and political parties.

Xi Jinping’s Return Visit to Seoul

In July 2014, Xi Jinping visited South Korea as CCP General Secretary and president, meeting Park again—both now at the pinnacle of power. Xi’s decision to visit South Korea before North Korea and as a standalone visit was seen as unprecedented. He delivered a speech at Seoul National University and donated 10,000 books and audiovisual materials, leading to the opening of the Xi Jinping Collection Room in 2015.

Joint statements described the bilateral relationship as a “strategic cooperative partnership,” though the substance remained largely rhetorical.

From Friendship to Rupture

Despite years of engagement, North Korea’s repeated nuclear tests culminated in its fourth test on January 6, 2016. China failed to respond to Park’s calls afterward. Park soon abandoned her faith in China and moved to deploy THAAD.

China reacted fiercely, imposing unofficial sanctions such as the “Korean Wave ban,” devastating Korean cultural exports, tourism, and companies like Lotte, which ultimately withdrew from China.

The breakdown of Korea–China relations was, in hindsight, inevitable. China’s pressure escalated, including media attacks suggesting that THAAD could be used to impeach Park. After months of protests, Park was impeached in December 2016 and removed from office in March 2017.

Subsequent reports alleged behind-the-scenes contacts between South Korean opposition figures and Chinese officials, including alleged tacit agreements over THAAD-related “three no’s.” Those allegations were never substantively rebutted.

In the end, it took North Korea’s nuclear test and China’s reaction for Park Geun-hye to recognize the true nature of the Chinese Communist Party—a realization that came only after 15 years.

#ChinaPolitics #THAAD #ParkGeunHye