Chinese top legislator Zhang Dejiang 's visit to South Korea, which is attacked with a fast spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), has not only further cemented bilateral ties, but also helped the country ease MERS anxieties.
Asked by Xinhua about Zhang's three-day official friendly visit to Seoul last week, South Korean Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Chong said Monday that Zhang's visit had a " significant meaning" diplomatically in relations between the two countries.
Kim said he thought highly of Zhang's visit, noting the visit gave a message that the MERS virus is not transmissible in the air and in the community.
Zhang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), arrived in Seoul on June 11 for his three- day official friendly visit at the invitation of Chung Ui-hwa, speaker of South Korea's National Assembly.
Chinese top legislator's visit contributed to the efforts of South Korean officials to relieve anxieties about the viral disease among local citizens and foreign tourists, especially among Chinese tourists.
According to the tourism ministry, 108,000 foreign tourists had cancelled their travel plan to South Korea for the first 13 days of this month. Seventy-five percent of the total came from China, China's Hong Kong and China's Taiwan.
If travel by foreign tourists to the country reduces 20 percent on-year during the peak season of July and August, South Korea's tourism revenue would decline 900 million U.S. dollars, according to the ministry estimates. The loss would surge to 2.3 billion dollars if the tourists' travel halves compared with the busy season of last year.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye visited the Dongdaemun Shopping Center without wearing a mask Sunday, bringing cheer to merchants facing a drop in sales after the MERS outbreak. Park met with Chinese tourists there, asking them to visit South Korea frequently and to tell other Chinese after going back home that Seoul is a safe place for sightseeing.
The Dongdaemun mall is one of the country's famous tourist attractions in central Seoul as it has shopping malls, traditional markets and historical sites. Sales in the area fell sharply after a plunge in visits by Chinese tourists.
The tourism minister visited a baseball stadium to send a message that it is okay to visit those places. Events hosted by the central and municipal governments will be held as scheduled to deliver such a message to tourists and the public, the vice tourism minister said.
Politicians appreciated Chinese top legislator's visit. "A friend in need is a friend indeed," Kim Moo-sung, ruling New Frontier Party leader told reporters, mentioning Zhang's visit to South Korea.
Speaker Chung expressed his gratitude to Zhang for his official friendly visit despite the MERS outbreak during a meeting at the headquarters of the National Assembly.
Han Jae-jin, a senior research fellow at the Hyundai Research Institute, said Chinese top legislator' visit despite the MERS outbreak "confirmed the deepening relations between the two countries and will cement the bilateral ties further."
MERS infections in South Korea increased to 154 on Tuesday since the first case was found on May 20. The death toll rose to 19 as three more deaths were reported.
