Seoul-Beijing feud cues Lotte to end China misery

Lotte

03/03/2017 03:52

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions 
expressed are his own.) 
    By Jun Yang 
    SEOUL, March 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The South Korean 
retailer is under attack from Beijing for letting Seoul use its 
land for a defence system. Chinese state media is vowing to make 
life hard for the group. It's hard already. Losses in China have 
sparked a founding family spat. This rift is a good excuse to 
exit.    
     
    Full view will be published shortly. 
    On Twitter https://twitter.com/JYang_in_HK 
     
    CONTEXT NEWS 
    - The South Korean agreed in 2016 to install the U.S. 
Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) on its soil to help 
defend against North Korean ballistic missile attack. Since then 
South Korean officials have complained that the Chinese 
government has been retaliating indirectly against South Korean 
business in China. 
    - The Lotte Group said Chinese authorities have halted 
construction at a multi-billion dollar real estate project after 
a fire inspection. Chinese officials launched a widespread 
inspection campaign into most of Lotte's China sites, including 
more than 100 retail stores. 
    - Lotte affiliate Lotte International approved a land swap 
to allow THAAD assets to be deployed on a golf course it 
currently owns. Chinese state media criticised Lotte before and 
after the decision, with many calling for boycotts. 
    - Lotte Duty Free on March 2 said a cyber attack using 
Chinese internet protocol addresses has crashed its website. 
    - For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can 
click on  YANG/    
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    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
South Korea minister says China indirectly retaliating against 
THAAD     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1EW2S3 
South Korea political scandal puts corporate decisions on ice    
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1EA3XL 
S.Korea's Lotte Duty Free says website crashed after attack from 
Chinese IPs     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1GF2BZ 
S.Korea's Lotte approves land swap for missile defence - 
ministry     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1GC2QR 
BREAKINGVIEWS - China bullies South Korea at its own risk    
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1F118O 
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> 
 (Editing by Pete Sweeney and Nicolle Liu) 
 ((junseok.yang@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: 
junseok.yang.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: LOTTE CHINA/BREAKINGVIEWS