The launch of the programme drew sharp criticism from members of the conservative opposition People Power Party (PPP), who raised alarm over security and public safety.
Lee Dong-gyu, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, argued that far-right politicians were leveraging the tourism initiative to stir hostility against the Lee administration, which sought to repair ties with Beijing.
“Some conservative politicians are using this as a chance to fuel anti-China sentiment and mount attacks on the Lee government,” he told This Week in Asia.
Myongji University political-science professor Jeong Hoi-ok said it was “quite disconcerting” that extremist and xenophobic rhetoric had become normalised among some conservative figures.
