On top of the abrupt suspension of China’s multiple-entry visa issuance to South Korean nationals, a number of cases suspected of Beijing’s possible retaliation against Seoul’s decision to deploy an advanced American anti-missile defense system have been reported.

According to the Seoul Customs on Thursday, its office has been swamped with phone calls from small and medium Korean enterprises due to an unexpected delay in customs clearance to China. When Korean exporters submitted a certificate of origin to benefit from preferential tariff rates under the Korea’s free trade agreement with China in the past, it normally took about three days for customs clearance. But it now takes up to six days for their customs clearance and they believe Chinese authorities have been intentionally delaying customs clearance by finding minor typos on documents and requesting Seoul authorities to review for any forgery.

Business meetings are also affected. A Korean private equity fund official working in Shanghai said an investment meeting with Chinese companies arranged early this year was suspended in July. “For the time being, Chinese companies appear to adjust their business speed while being conscious of their authorities,” the official said.

Planned concerts or fan meetings of Korean stars (Kim Woo-bin, Suzy, and Girl group Wa$$up) for Chinese fans were also canceled. The project to attract 3,000 Chinese supporters for WCQ matches and a chicken beer festival plan in Daegu were suspended, too.

The local tourism industry is worried that the number of Chinese visitors to Korea during China’s National Day holidays in October would decrease dramatically after a number of planned Chinese group tours to Korea have been already cancelled. Lotte Duty Free forecast its October visitors from China will fall short of its target by 20 percent.

By Chung Wook, Lee Sang-duk and Kim Dae-gi

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]