By Park Jae-hyuk
Lotte Group's offering of its golf resort as a site to deploy a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here may be delayed for administrative reasons, according to the Ministry of National Defense, Monday.
However, some observers see that the retail giant has been reluctant to exchange the Lotte Skyhill Country Club in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang Province, for a piece of military-owned land in Gyeonggi Province, due to Beijing's recent economic retaliations against its operations in China.
During a press briefing on Monday, defense ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said that the administrative process is underway, but the land-swapping deal originally scheduled to be finished by January may be postponed a little.
"An appraisal of the two sites was completed last week," he said. "We expect Lotte to hold a board of directors meeting soon to approve the swap."
Lotte Group, however, said the board of directors meeting of Lotte International owning the golf course has yet to be scheduled, even though the company vowed to follow the government's decision sincerely.
Last September, the nation's fifth-largest conglomerate agreed to offer the site as an alternative to the controversial Seongsan anti-aircraft missile base in the same county.
Following the agreement, the group has faced unusual economic retaliations from Beijing, including surprise tax audits and fire safety inspections by Chinese authorities last November.
About 150 Lotte Mart outlets, Lotte Department Stores and Lotte Supers in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu were targeted by inspections then. Factories of Lotte Confectionary and Lotte Chemical in China were also subject to unexpected scrutiny.
Although Lotte Group has since denied any additional economic retaliation, observers think the conglomerate owning the nation's top duty free shop will suffer severe losses if it completes the THAAD deal.
Lotte Duty Free has posted more than 70 percent of its sales from Chinese tourists. Also, Lotte Asset Development is building a 570,000-square-meter business complex in Chengdu. Some observers say, therefore, Lotte Group will delay the deal as much as possible.
Meanwhile, the defense ministry denied allegations of Minister Han Min-koo's attempt to meet Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, which was reported by several news outlets a day before the press briefing. Lotte Group declined to comment on it.
Lotte Group's offering of its golf resort as a site to deploy a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here may be delayed for administrative reasons, according to the Ministry of National Defense, Monday.
However, some observers see that the retail giant has been reluctant to exchange the Lotte Skyhill Country Club in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang Province, for a piece of military-owned land in Gyeonggi Province, due to Beijing's recent economic retaliations against its operations in China.
During a press briefing on Monday, defense ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said that the administrative process is underway, but the land-swapping deal originally scheduled to be finished by January may be postponed a little.
"An appraisal of the two sites was completed last week," he said. "We expect Lotte to hold a board of directors meeting soon to approve the swap."
Lotte Group, however, said the board of directors meeting of Lotte International owning the golf course has yet to be scheduled, even though the company vowed to follow the government's decision sincerely.
Last September, the nation's fifth-largest conglomerate agreed to offer the site as an alternative to the controversial Seongsan anti-aircraft missile base in the same county.
Following the agreement, the group has faced unusual economic retaliations from Beijing, including surprise tax audits and fire safety inspections by Chinese authorities last November.
About 150 Lotte Mart outlets, Lotte Department Stores and Lotte Supers in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu were targeted by inspections then. Factories of Lotte Confectionary and Lotte Chemical in China were also subject to unexpected scrutiny.
Although Lotte Group has since denied any additional economic retaliation, observers think the conglomerate owning the nation's top duty free shop will suffer severe losses if it completes the THAAD deal.
Lotte Duty Free has posted more than 70 percent of its sales from Chinese tourists. Also, Lotte Asset Development is building a 570,000-square-meter business complex in Chengdu. Some observers say, therefore, Lotte Group will delay the deal as much as possible.
Meanwhile, the defense ministry denied allegations of Minister Han Min-koo's attempt to meet Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, which was reported by several news outlets a day before the press briefing. Lotte Group declined to comment on it.
