ROK draws new protests on THAAD

Consider China's interests, Beijing says after Lotte land swap deal signed

China has twice protested to the Republic of Korea regarding the latest developments in its planned deployment of an advanced US anti-missile system, and it asked related parties to seriously consider China's interests and concerns, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, the ROK Defense Ministry signed a land swap deal with Lotte Group for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, whose radar can cover parts of China.

"We strongly urge related parties to stop the deployment process and not go too far on the wrong path," Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily media briefing in Beijing.

He said the parties concerned must understand the Chinese people's opposition to the deployment of the THAAD system in the ROK, and they must have noticed the recent public outcry.

When asked whether China will take punitive measures against Lotte Group, Geng said China welcomes foreign companies to operate in China and respects and protects their legal rights and interests.

"We also want to emphasize that their operation must abide by Chinese laws and regulations," he said.

"Whether they can have a successful business in China or not will be decided by the Chinese market and consumers," the spokesman added.

According to Chinese media reports, a supermarket in Beijing owned by Lotte Group was fined 44,000 yuan ($6,400) by the Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce for posting illegal advertising. It was the first time a manager of such a facility was punished for posting illegal advertisements in Beijing.

Since entering the Chinese market in 1994, Lotte, the ROK's fifth-largest conglomerate, has opened 99 outlets and 16 Lotte Super stores in China.

Huang Youfu, a Korean studies professor at Minzu University of China in Beijing, said the deployment of THAAD will pose a severe threat to China's security, and Lotte Group is hurting the feelings of Chinese by providing land for it.

"It should have considered that its business in China would be affected when it approved the deal," he said. "Now it has to suffer the outcome."

Da Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at the Heilongjiang Academy of Social Sciences, said Lotte Group has shared a big slice of the Chinese market over the years, and now the Chinese people's anger will be a lesson for it.

"Given the tensions in the China-ROK relationship caused by THAAD, bilateral cooperation in various areas including tourism, culture, information technology, automobiles and electronics will experience a severe impact in the future," he said.

mojingxi@chinadaily.com.cn