It's not that mysterious. It is simply that the relationship between China and South Korea is not good, resulting in a sharp drop in the number of people coming and going, and constantly flying empty planes to play.
South Korea's "Jingxiang News" wrote in the report: "Airlines explained that this measure was taken because of passenger demand. Even after the COVID-19 epidemic control measures were liberalized, passenger demand hardly increased."
When reporting this incident, Yonhap News Agency attributed the slow growth of tourists between the two countries to the recent cold relations between South Korea and China. In fact, for some time, the government of South Korea's Yin Xiyue has been courting the United States on sensitive issues involving China, frequently making false remarks and provoking China, which has aroused strong resentment and vigilance in China society, and led to the continuous tension between China and South Korea.
The main reason is these two!
1. Compared with the policies of former President Moon Jae in, the new president Yin Xiyue, who came to power after the general election in South Korea, has not changed much, but the new South Korean government has made great adjustments to Japan-US diplomacy.
In this context, the South Korean government has taken an increasingly tough stance towards China, and the deterioration of Sino-Korean relations has undoubtedly been supported and encouraged by a western power. The South Korean government thought that with its backing, it could be fearless in Asia, Sino-US relations entered a trough, and there were cracks in Sino-Korean relations!
Second, another reason may be related to some anti-virus strategies in the first three years, referring to the incident of hanging a yellow card and closing a small black room. In this context, there are signs of a sharp decline in exchanges between China and South Korea.
To put it bluntly, Korean Air's route adjustment is mainly due to the economic consideration of reducing costs. At present, the passenger flow between China and South Korea is low, and airlines believe that there is no possibility of significant improvement in the short term, and there are more bad news.
What is the impact on China-ROK relations?
Reducing exchanges and economic activities between the two countries will certainly lead to changes in bilateral relations, which is also expected.
The reduction of flights reflects the continuous cooling of China-ROK relations and the increase of geopolitical risks, which obviously hinders the humanities and economic and trade exchanges between the two countries.
With the continuous deterioration of Sino-Korean relations, the cultural exchanges between the two countries have been seriously affected. This is a "bad news" for related industries in Korea. After all, the loss of tourists from China will not only affect Korean airlines, but also tourism, shopping and other industries.
Since Yin Xiyue chose to bet on the United States to win, South Korea will not be committed to improving Sino-Korean relations in the short term, and South Korea can survive for some time by relying on friendly trade with the United States. Korean capital will compete with China's foreign circulation strategy in ASEAN, the Middle East and Europe.
It won't affect China, but South Korea can't afford to have bad relations with China. Some Korean airlines announced the date of their return flight to China, expressing the hope that China-ROK relations can be reversed.
Of course, whether China and South Korea resume cultural exchanges depends on the sincerity of Yin Xiyue's government.
Finally, although Korean Air grounded some flights, other flights were restarted and increased, and the overall route to China remained relatively stable.