S. Korean firms feel chill over THAAD

SEOUL — Influenced by South Korea’s current plan to deploy Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, South Korea’s trade and tourism industries in recent months have been witnessing downturns too bitter to taste for many companies and businesses here.

According to the survey conducted on 597 companies in tourism and retail markets by Korea International Trade Association, 56.2 percent of the respondents said their businesses has been negatively affected by China’s reaction to THAAD deployment.

And 32.9 percent responding that they would feel the influence in the next three months.

In Myeongdong, a tourist attraction full of retail shops and snack stands in downtown Seoul, the shops and vendors are still busy, but the streets are not as hustle and bustle as before.

“The tourists are fewer than before,” a tourist police officer said.

A shop assistant working in Daiso, a retail chain store in Myeongdong, said Chinese buyers often came here in large group to find souvenirs. But now she seldom saw Chinese in group, only local people and some tourists from Japan and Southeast Asia.

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