The business operations in China of the Lotte Group, South Korea’s fifth-largest conglomerate, have come under unprecedented pressure as Chinese citizens call for a boycott of Lotte products in response to the company’s decision to accept a land-swap deal with the South Korean government for the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system.  

The worst-case scenario for Lotte, which has grown highly reliant on Chinese consumers, would be if those threats of a mass boycott prove to be true.

As a direct result of Lotte's decision to allow THAAD to be deployed on its land, it is estimated that a Chinese boycott of its products could put business operations worth around 7.8 trillion won (6.8 billion US dollars) in jeopardy, according to reports from Korea Bizwire. 

That amount could end up being even greater, taking into account ongoing construction projects that have already been, or are expected to be, affected.

Lotte is building a large shopping mall and theme park in Shenyang for 3 trillion won (2.6 billion US dollars).

Another project to build a complex in Chengdu is also under way, with a targeted opening date of 2019.

At the same time, Lotte has suffered sluggish retail growth in China.

The group saw its hypermarket same store sales growth (SSSG) for the fourth quarter of 2016 decline by 14.2 percent year-on-year in China.

Lotte had already revealed plans to close three retail stores in China in 2017 due to poor performance in 2016.