Operator of suspected Chinese police station accuses media of spreading misinformation

Wang Haijun, a Chinese national who controls the Chinese restaurant Dongpangmyeongju which is suspected of being a front for a "secret Chinese police station," speaks during a press conference held at the restaurant in southern Seoul's Jamsil Hangang Park, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

By Jack Lau

The businessman who controls the Chinese restaurant suspected of being a front for a "secret Chinese police station" denied the allegations about his business, accusing the media of disseminating misinformation and hurting Korea-China relations.

Wang Haijun, a Chinese national living in Korea and the operator of the Dongpangmyeongju Chinese restaurant in southern Seoul, said that his business had become a public target following media reports that there is a secret Chinese police station operating in Seoul, an allegation raised by Spain-based human rights group Safeguard Defenders.

"I sincerely ask all sides to remain calm, whether they are interested parties or government agencies," he said during a press conference held at the restaurant in Jamsil Hangang Park on Thursday.

Wang serves as president of the Korean Chinese Overseas Association Headquarters (KCOAH) and Chinese Korean Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China (CKCPPRC). He is also director of the Overseas Chinese Service Center in Korea.

"Please do not give us unjustified pressure, disturb us or make unreasonable requests," he said in Chinese, without specifying what he was referring to.

He went inside the restaurant after reading a prepared statement and did not take questions from the journalists present.

Wang said he was angry at the media, claiming that their reports were not based on facts.

"What is your intention? Where are your swords pointed toward?" he asked.

He previewed another press conference to be held on Saturday, stating he would explain more about the police station allegations, and claimed there were too many related events and organizations.

Wang did not mention whether his restaurant in fact serves as a covert police station as media outlets alleged.

His first press conference was held days after media reports that South Korea has begun to investigate the restaurant, suspecting that it could be one of the police stations set up by China around the world without consent from the host country.

Wang Haijun reads a prepared statement in front of the Chinese restaurant in Seoul, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Safeguard Defenders had accused China of setting up 102 police stations worldwide to pressure Chinese nationals abroad accused of committing crimes in China to return home to face charges, and performing functions reserved for embassies and consulates, violating international law.

The Chinese Embassy in Seoul released a statement on Dec. 23 denying that any Chinese police stations were operating in Korea.

The Korea Times learned that the secret Chinese police station is an initiative of the Chinese city government of Nantong to establish overseas branches to protect its citizens from crime and address safety-related concerns. It also aims to monitor Chinese citizens abroad suspected of financial crime and collect clues to their whereabouts from business associations outside China.

"So far, the center has acted jointly to handle more than 120 requests for help and cases of all kinds, assisted with capturing and persuading more than 80 suspects, and issued more than 1,500 warning messages," the Nantong police said.

Despite the Chinese Embassy in Seoul's denial of the presence of a police station in South Korea, the Nantong government confirmed in a press release on Nov. 26, 2021, that there is a branch in South Korea and a new liaison for the South Korean branch had been appointed at the time. The Nantong police had also recruited Chinese students and other Chinese nationals in South Korea as liaisons, according to a news report in July.

There is no evidence supporting that the Chinese restaurant in southern Seoul is a branch of the police service center. But it serves as the head office of two overseas Chinese groups, KCOAH and CKCPPRC, chaired by Wang, according to the former group's updates on its events online.

The two groups appear to have close ties with Beijing.

Reporters crowd around the entrance of the Dongpangmyeongju restaurant on Hangang, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

In 2021, Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming visited the groups on an inspection tour to supervise their work, the KCOAH said in a post at online forum Icnkr.com for Chinese nationals living in Korea.

"Under the leadership of the embassy, we strive to unite the overseas Chinese, serve the overseas Chinese community, tell the good stories of China, build a good image of the nation and contribute the power of the overseas Chinese community towards the promotion of friendly exchanges and cooperation between the Chinese and Korean people," it said.

Laura Harth, the campaign director at Safeguard Defenders, said the Police and Overseas Chinese Linkage Service Centers were building on existing networks of organizations and individuals around the world closely linked to the United Front.

Among others, the activities of China's United Front involve ensuring Chinese nationals abroad stay loyal to the party and suppressing its opponents.

Low-level United Front departments of Chinese towns, counties and cities were actively involved in shoring up support for the Chinese Communist Party and saw the United Front work as a key performance indicator, often doubling down on tasks set by superior authorities, according to Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.

The LED screen installed at the restaurant says that Wang does not speak Korean and warns media outlets that they will be held legally liable for inaccuracies in their reporting. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Harth said the police stations violate the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, which said only official diplomatic outposts could issue travel documents and perform "certain functions of an administrative nature." The Nantong police announced in May that it would expand its center to provide services related to driver's licenses and identification documents.

While not every function of these centers, such as monitoring sentiment among overseas Chinese, violates the judicial sovereignty of another country, she said, it was concerning from a human rights perspective.

"Having these United Front organizations who are in close touch, working and cooperating with public security bureaus back home, engaged in this kind of task is ― I would say ― most worrisome from that perspective," Harth said.

Jack Lau is a reporter with the South China Morning Post. He is currently based in Seoul, writing for both The Korea Times and the South China Morning Post under an exchange program.