Today -- March 15th -- marks one year since China started taking economic retaliation
against South Korea for Seoul's decision to deploy a U.S. missile defense system in the
country.
The ban was lifted late last year,... but South Korea's tourism market and South Korean
companies operating in China are still feeling the pinch.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
March 15th marks one year since Beijing imposed retaliatory measures on South Korean goods
and tourism,... after Seoul deployed the U.S. THAAD missile defense system to better cope
with North Korea's missile and nuclear threats.
Since President Moon Jae-in took office in May last year, the South Korean government
has been urging its biggest trading partner to stop its economic retaliation.
And in October of last year, the two countries agreed to get their relations back on track,...
with President Moon making a state visit to Beijing for a summit with Chinese President
Xi Jinping in December.
Despite the improved ties between the two nations,... there's been little sign of a
breakthrough.
Among the most heavily impacted firms is Lotte Group -- its chemical unit has seen one of
its offices in China shut and sitting idle for a year.
And since chemical and retail are Lotte's biggest moneyspinners,... it's a huge blow
to the nation's fifth-largest conglomerate,... which also saw 87 of its 99 Lotte Mart stores
across China suspend operations last year,... after the firm offered its golf course in
Seongju, to be used as the site for the THAAD battery.
South Korea's tourism sector has also taken a huge hit.
According to the Korea Tourism Organization, the number of inbound Chinese tourists fell
by more than 48 percent compared to 2016.
From March to December 2016,... the number of Chinese tourists to South Korea was close
to seven million,... but from March to December of 2017 it barely surpassed three million.
This also contributed to the drop in the overall number of foreigners who visited South Korea,...
down 22-point-percent from a year earlier.
The fall in tourism also impacted duty-free stores,... despite sales reaching an all-time
high last year.
Small-scale Chinese traders increased duty-free sales growth,... but discount sales due to
competition led to an almost 88 percent drop in profits for Lotte Duty Free and more than
25 percent decrease for Shilla Duty Free.
But with improved ties with China,... and the spring season having arrived in South
Korea,... the country hopes to see Chinese tourists return to boost the tourism market,
once again.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.
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