North Korean attacks scare away foreign business

By Kim Tong-hyung

South Korea has been earning its stripes as an international business destination. But the escalated tension following the North Korean attacks the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong last week is now resulting in a slew of cancelations of first-class tickets.

Sony and Honda are among many foreign corporations that have canceled business trips to South Korea that were scheduled through the end of the year, according to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), and organizers of international business events are complaining about zapped enthusiasm.

Mario Moretti Polegato, president of Italian shoe manufacturer Geox, was among the high-profile business figures to change their minds about coming here.

``Sony had been planning to dispatch its executives here for a meeting with Korean parts makers from Dec. 1 to 2, while Honda has suspended all business trips to Korea as of last Tuesday, when the North Koreans shelled Yeonpyeong Island,’’ said a KOTRA official.

``The fear seems evident for foreign businessmen as we are getting a lot of inquiries about whether a warlike situation is happening here. An Austrian sportswear maker and a number of Polish buyers have also waived on their commitment to participate in the `Buy Korea’ trade fair in January next year, so this is obviously a frustrating situation for us.’’

According to the Korea Tourism Organization, the country had been getting around 25,000 visitors, including both business and leisure travelers, per day before the North Korean strike on Yeonpyeong Island. Since the attacks, the number of visitors has been declining by 600 to 700 everyday.

Among the countries seriously concerned about their nationals staying in South Korea is the Philippines, which ordered a temporary stop to the deployment of Filipino workers here.

KOTRA has recently set up an emergency task force that includes its foreign branches to measure how business communities in each market are responding to the Korean cross-border crisis, and how this could affect the future business of South Korean firms.

The tourism industry appears to be hit hard by the North Korean provocation as well, with travel agencies grumbling about an increasing number of cancelations and hotels bracing for a decline in room occupancy.