South Korean authorities say that they are looking into unofficially set-up Chinese “police stations” across the country after the alleged presence of such entities came under scrutiny in Seoul earlier in 2023.
The National Intelligence Service and the police are probing suspected activities of “police stations” operating covertly for the Chinese government, not just in Seoul but in other regions too, including Jeju Island.
In May, the intelligence service reached a tentative conclusion that a Chinese restaurant in central Seoul’s Songpa district was acting as a base for undeclared police operations for Beijing.
Findings disclosed by ruling People Power Party representative Choe Jae-hyeong on Thursday showed the Confucius Institutes run by the Chinese government allegedly spread propaganda on behalf of Beijing and staged activities to counter student activities supporting Hong Kong democracy movements at South Korean universities.
According to Safeguard Defenders, a non-governmental organisation based in Spain, China is allegedly running more than 100 police stations in at least 53 countries with the goal of expanding its influence and forcibly repatriating Chinese nationals.
Chinese officials have repeatedly denied the existence of such police stations overseas.
China’s consulate in Jeju said on Thursday that the so-called Chinese “secret police station” on the island does not exist and media reports of such a place have no basis in fact and are “deliberate speculation”, Reuters reported.
“We are strongly dissatisfied with and strongly oppose such inaccurate reports,” the consulate said in a statement on its WeChat account.
At a May 15 press briefing, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin reiterated that there are “no so-called overseas police stations” and that such accusations were “disinformation… smearing and discrediting China”.
Mr Wang admitted there were institutions helping Chinese nationals in other countries return home amid the Covid-19 pandemic, but said that they were “not so-called police stations or police service centres”.
“China always upholds the principle of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs, strictly observes international law and respects the judicial sovereignty of all countries,” he said.