China slams Korean lawmaker for attending Taiwanese president's inauguration

China's embassy in South Korea on Tuesday strongly condemned a South Korean lawmaker for attending the inauguration ceremony of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te earlier this week.

The inauguration ceremony on Monday drew more than 500 foreign dignitaries from 51 countries, including Cho Kyoung-tae, a lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party, and South Korea's representative to Taiwan Lee Eun-ho.

South Korea did not send an official delegation in a move widely seen as its effort to manage ties with Beijing, which considers Taiwan part of its territory.

In a message to reporters on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the embassy said Beijing resolutely opposes and condemns the visit, emphasizing that it "runs counter to the China-South Korea strategic cooperative partnership."

"We have lodged a stern protest with the South Korean side," the spokesperson said, urging the Seoul government not to interfere in Beijing's internal affairs in any manner.

South Korea said its stance on Taiwan remains unchanged.

"We sent a congratulatory message in the name of our representative in Taipei right after the election in January," Lim Soo-suk, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said during a press briefing.

South Korea severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1992 when it established diplomatic relations with China. In 1993, South Korea opened a mission in Taipei to maintain unofficial bilateral relations and continue substantive cooperation.

Yonhap