Presidential office says Chinese envoy may 'harm' relations with remarks

Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming, right, shakes hands with Democratic Party Chairman Lee Jae-myung at his residence in northern Seoul on Thursday. [NEWS1]

President Yoon Suk Yeol's office warned Monday that a diplomat could hinder relations between two countries by playing an "inappropriate bridging role," in reference to controversial remarks made by Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming last week.

"The ambassador position serves as a bridge between the home country and host country," a senior presidential official told reporters. "If the bridging role is not done appropriately, it may harm the national interests of the host country, as well as that of the home country."

The remarks came amid an escalating diplomatic tiff between Seoul and Beijing over remarks exchanged in a meeting between Xing and Democratic Party (DP) Chairman Lee Jae-myung last week related to Sino-U.S. tensions.

On Thursday, Xing invited Lee to his diplomatic residence in Seoul for dinner and aired Beijing's grievances, warning Korea against siding with the United States in a speech in front of local reporters.

Xing said China wants "Korea to be free from outside factors in handling its relations with China," referring to the United States, and warned that "those who now bet on China's defeat will surely regret it later."

On Friday, the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Chinese Ambassador Xing to lodge a complaint over the "unreasonable and provocative" comments made in his meeting with Lee.

In a tit-for-tat move, on Saturday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry summoned Korea's ambassador to Beijing to complain about Seoul's criticism of Xing's remarks.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that its assistant foreign minister, Nong Rong, conveyed Beijing's "serious concern and dissatisfaction" over the incident to Korean Ambassador to China Chung Jae-ho.

Nong conveyed to Chung that Xing's job is to meet with various figures in Korea to promote understanding and cooperation between Seoul and Beijing.

"Our Foreign Ministry has fully conveyed our position, and the Korean Embassy in China has also stated its position, so the president has nothing more to add," the presidential official told reporters Monday regarding the controversy.

However, the official noted that Article 41 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations stipulates that diplomats have a duty to "respect the laws and regulations" of the receiving country.

This article also stipulates that diplomats must not interfere in the internal affairs of their host country.

Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo likewise told lawmakers Monday that Xing's controversial remarks amounted to "very inappropriate behavior as a diplomat."

Han spoke at a parliamentary hearing on political, diplomatic and security matters at the National Assembly and was questioned on the remarks exchanged between the Chinese envoy and DP leader Lee.

"I have served as an ambassador to the United States, and I believe it was very inappropriate behavior for a diplomat to make such unilaterally accusatory remarks, going against the purpose of promoting bilateral relations."

Han served as the ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2012 during the Lee Myung-bak administration.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]