Survey finds strong THAAD impact

More than 80 percent of South Korean companies that have been seeking growth in China have been affected by tensions caused by the deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in the country, media reports said.

A total of 83 percent of companies from South Korea said they were hit by a worsening bilateral relationship between China and South Korea, the highest level this year, which is when the survey began, the Yonhap News Agency reported on Thursday, citing an industry report that interviewed 271 South Korean companies that have been expanding in the Chinese market.

The report said that 97 percent of South Korean car producers reported a significant impact, followed by 87 percent of companies in the metallic machine sector and 87 percent in the textile and garment sector.

The report said that 43 percent of enterprises, up from 38 percent over the prior quarter, said that the Chinese market is seeing sluggish demand for South Korean products, which shows that Chinese consumers increasingly think negatively about South Korean goods.

Due to the deployment of the THAAD system, South Korean industries such as tourism, cosmetics and toys were also strongly affected, and South Korean companies in China have considered transferring projects to other countries and regions such as Southeast Asia.