Chinese netizens have vowed to boycott the businesses of the Lotte Group in response to its recent land-swamp deal with South Korea’s government for the deployment the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD). 

Users of Sina Weibo, China’s Tweeter-like social media platform, commented passionately on THAAD-related posts. @ “sleep eludes me today” wrote, “We ordinary people voluntarily participate in the boycott! We mean it.” 

Another user, @ “tianya YOOY” echoed those sentiments. “Chinese people are united and persistently say no to Korean culture and Korean goods.” “Go bankrupt, Lotte Group, and get out of the Chinese market,” @“mengjing_26097” vented her anger in a comment, after listing several businesses of the South Korean conglomerate in China. 

When “Weilong” (in Chinese: safeguard dragon), a popular snack brand famous for Latiao, announced that it has stopped supplying products for Lotte Mart and no longer cooperate with the company, netizens applauded for its patriotism. 

@ “xiaomi zhuti” wrote, “you really deserve the name Weilong”. Another user @ “jiumu Jomoo” praised its action, “So cool! I’ll call on everyone in my office to buy your Latiao. We don’t care about the sales in Lotte Mart”. 

Huanqiu.com, the website affiliated with China’s Global Times, launched an online survey on February 19, which asked, if Lotte Group signs the land-swap deal, are you in favor of a boycott or not? Nearly 29,000 people have voted, 95% of them supporting the boycott, saying the Group can’t make profits in China while at the same time be against China’s national interests. 

Despite explicit opposition from China, South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense signed a land exchange contract with the Lotte Group on Tuesday, which will accelerate the deployment of THAAD. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has repeatedly urged South Korea to reconsider the decision and to “respect reasonable security concerns”.