South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during the Third Summit for Democracy in Seoul on March 18, 2024. ( POOL / AFP)

The Summit for Democracy hosted by Seoul under the US baton is a meeting that divides the world along Western standards and is not conducive to global peace and unity, experts say. 

The third edition of the summit, first convened by US President Joe Biden in a virtual format in December 2021, opened on March 18 in Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea (ROK).

The summit was created by some countries that wish to go back to a Cold War-era mentality, said Woo Su-keun, president of the Seoul-based Korea-China Global Association

The summit was created by some countries that wish to go back to a Cold War-era mentality, said Woo Su-keun, president of the Seoul-based Korea-China Global Association.

“Just by looking at the name of summit, it is not in line with the era of globalization,” said Woo.

“It is an attempt to go back to the Cold War era in the 20th century when there was a bipolar rivalry between the Western-style liberal democracy and socialist communism.”

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Seoul on March 17 to attend the three-day gathering.

Last March, the second summit was co-hosted by the United States with the governments of Costa Rica, Netherlands, the ROK, and Zambia. 

Wang Junsheng, a research fellow at the National Institute of International Strategy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), noted that this is the first time the summit has been hosted by a country other than the US.

By hosting the summit, the ROK aims to play a role in democratic politics as a developed country and strengthen its alliance with the US, Wang said.

For the US, Wang said the real purpose of the summit is to divide the world by drawing lines between nations “based on so-called democratic values”.

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“By consolidating the so-called alliance relationships, pressure is exerted on China, serving the US’ strategic competition with and suppression of China,” said Wang.

Although about 30 countries attended the ministerial meeting on March 18, Wang noted, the summit is declining in all aspects.

In his opening remarks at the summit, Blinken said South Korea is a “champion of democracy” for the world. However, Wang said ROK’s level of democracy has declined since the Yoon administration took office.

According to the Democracy Report 2024 published by the Varieties of Democracy Institute at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, the ROK ranked 47th among 179 countries globally for its level of democracy, down from its previous ranking of 28th.

“It is regrettable to see that the third Summit for Democracy is held in the ROK,” said Lee Chang-ho, chairman of the Korea-China Exchange Promotion Committee in the ROK.

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Noting that the Yoon administration has been under criticism for its foreign policy towards the US and Japan, Lee said hosting the summit was not in the national interest of the ROK and will further hurt the ROK’s relations with China

Noting that the Yoon administration has been under criticism for its foreign policy towards the US and Japan, Lee said hosting the summit was not in the national interest of the ROK and will further hurt the ROK’s relations with China.

Seeing the summit as result of unilateralism, Lee said it is important to promote a diplomatic strategy that emphasizes multilateralism because a dichotomy does not serve the peaceful development and coexistence of humanity.

“Which country has not been pursuing democracy?” said Woo, from the Korea-China Global Association, noting that each country has their own way to implement democracy based on their unique situation.

For example, when compared to the US focus on individual freedom, China’s democracy puts more focus on collective stability and the interest of all parties, which suits the country’s situation well, said Woo.

Dividing the world by the US standard of democracy is of little help to the global peace and unity, said Woo.

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Wang, from CASS, said the ROK is intensifying competition among major powers by hosting the summit and its action will exacerbate regional division.

“The ROK’s action will also surely provoke the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, leading to heightened tensions on the peninsula,” said Wang, noting that the ROK was likely to use the summit to criticize the DPRK’s human rights issues, among other things.

The DPRK fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on March 18, the ROK’s Yonhap News Agency reported, citing the ROK’s military.

Contact the writers at kelly@chinadailyapac.com