This picture taken on July 17, 2019 shows a sign reading "We do not sell Japanese products!" as cans of ROK beer are displayed on shelves at a grocery shop in Seoul. (JUNG YEON-JE / AFP)
SEOUL — As soon as supermarket manager Cho Min-hyuk got to work the day after Tokyo imposed curbs on exports to the Republic of Korea (ROK), he pulled all Japanese products off the shelves.
It was Cho’s way of taking a stand against Japan in a quickly worsening political and economic dispute between the two east Asian neighbors.
Such anger has prompted a widespread boycott of Japanese products and services, from beer to clothes and travel, disrupting businesses in what was already the worst economic climate for ROK in a decade.
Japan putting pressure on South Korea through export curbs, showing no regret over its past wrongdoings, is completely unacceptable
Cho Min-hyuk, Supermarket manager
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Cho, who manages a 1,500 square meter Purunemart supermarket in Seoul, is taking the hit voluntarily. Over 200 other supermarkets and grocery stores are doing the same, according to Korea Mart Association, a trade group representing them.
“Japan putting pressure on South Korea through export curbs, showing no regret over its past wrongdoings, is completely unacceptable,” said Cho, adding the 10-15% drop in sales he is already facing won’t change his mind.
Diplomatic tensions intensified since a ROK’s court last year ordered Japanese companies to compensate Koreans who were forced to work for Japanese occupiers during World War Two. On July 4, in apparent retaliation, Japan restricted exports of high-tech materials to ROK, but denied the move was related to the compensation issue. Tokyo cited “inadequate management” of sensitive exports, with Japanese media reporting some items ended up in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Seoul has refuted that.
BEER, CLOTHES, HOLIDAYS
Seoul has resisted taking any countermeasures, saying it would raise the dispute with the World Trade Organisation. But Koreans are taking matters into their own hands, with beer apparently an easy target.
The country’s top two convenience stores CU and GS25, run by BGF Retail and GS Retail, told Reuters sales of Japanese beer plunged 21.5% and 24.2%, respectively, in the first two weeks of July from the previous two-week period. E-Mart reported a 24.6% fall.
Hongcheon Culture Foundation, a beer festival organizer, told Reuters it canceled an order of 1.2 tonnes of Kirin beer even as at last year’s edition the Japanese brand accounted for a tenth of revenues.
ROK buys 61% of Japan’s beer exports, spending 7.9 billion yen (US$73.13 million) in 2018. Asahi Super Dry is the most popular imported brand, with sales tripling in the past five years, according to Euromonitor.
READ MORE: S. Korea calls in Japan envoy, to file WTO suit over export curbs
An Asahi spokesman said the company was monitoring developments but declined to comment on the impact.
Screenshots of Japan trip cancellations are trending on social media. Hanatour said it now receives 500 tour reservations for Japan a day, from an average 1,100. Very Good Tour said new bookings fell 10% while cancellations rose 10% week-on-week.
“If someone did something wrong, they shouldn’t be proud of themselves,” said Lee Sang-won, a 29-year-old designer, who canceled his Japan trip for a 130,000 won (US$110.15) fee.
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