National Security First
The Lotte Group has decided to provide Seongju Golf Course as a site for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.
The Korean Ministry of National Defense said on February 27 that a site exchange deal was approved by the Lotte Group, the owner of Lotte Sky Hill Seongju Country Club, which was selected as a site for the THAAD System.
It is expected that the deployment of the THAAD System will be accelerated as the site problem was resolved. Going forward, the government will seal a land exchange deal with the Lotte Group and then carry out a basic design and environmental impact assessment. At the earliest, the deployment of the military hardware will be completed within the next three to four months.
With respect to South Korea’s plan, the Chinese government adamantly warned that South Korea and the United States should hold responsibility for the future outcomes. "China is strongly opposed to South Korea’s decision and expresses a strong dissatisfaction," a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said. "The Chinese side will ensure its safety and interests by taking necessary measures."
The Korean business world is concerned that the Lotte Group might become a "scapegoat" of China's retaliatory actions if they are realized. In addition to large-scale development projects in which the Lotte Group invested more than 3 trillion won (US$2.5 billion) in China, damage will be done to the group’s domestic distribution sector such as duty-free shops crowded with Chinese tourists. In particular, if a Lotte boycotting movement breaks out in China, the boycott will inevitably deal a big blow to the Lotte Group's sales in China amounting to 3.2 trillion won (US$2.7 billion).