The impending impeachment move against embattled South Korean President Park Geun-hye may work in favour of Hallyu stars such as “Descendants of the Sun” actors Song Joong-ki and Song Hye Kyo. The two Korean celebrities, along with other South Korean singers and actors who were banned from performing in China since mid-2016.
Seoul’s deployment of the THAAD missiles angered China that not only were the Hallyu stars banned from performing in the Asian giant. They also lost potential endorsements of commercial products that ran in the millions of dollars.
However, if the impeachment move succeeds or Park resigns out of shame over allegations of corruption, the new president could possibly be one who is friendlier to China and would not support the deployment of the THAAD missiles. A new policy could result in Beijing lifting the ban on Hallyu, South China Morning Post suggested.
The pressure is strong for the president to resign. One Saturday, more than 1 million demonstrators demanded for Park to now resign from office because of accusations that her adviser, Choi Soon-sil, pressured several conglomerates in South Korea, including phone giant Samsung, to contribute money to raise funds for foundations which support the promotion of cultural and sports communities in the country backed by the president.
A bill was introduced on Saturday filed by three opposition parties to impeach Park, Reuters reports. According to Woo Sang-ho, parliamentary leader of the Democratic Party, the main opposition party, the impeachment bill has 50-50 chances of ousting Park.
Until her removal from office and replacement by a new president friendlier to China, South Korean Hallyu would continue to suffer. One proof is that while Korean content could no longer be shown in China, a Japanese animation movie titled “Your Name” attracted 2.24 million Chinese who watched the film on Friday and broke the opening-day records for 2D animation in China, AstroAwani reports.