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After a several South Korean business owners fled China under cover of darkness, a growing number of Koreans suffer harassment there, including being watched, being held against their will, kidnapping and assault. An official with the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Qingdao said Korean nationals are frequently assaulted or kidnapped in the region due to outstanding payment or debt. Four or five such cases occur every week.
In China, it is not uncommon for people to resort to rough justice rather than wait for the ponderous progress of the law. In 2007, the president of an affiliate of Samsung Electronics in Weihai, Shandong was attacked by two men in the restroom of a Japanese restaurant. He had his hand cut off when he resisted. After the incident, Samsung Electronics strongly protested to the local government, which led to a police investigation. It turned out that the mastermind of the attack was a former company cafeteria contractor, whose service had been rejected by the company due to low quality of the food. The contractor had hired thugs in northeastern China to retaliate.
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Chinese employees at work at a South Korean textile factory in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China.
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Organized gangs extort money from small Korean businesses such as restaurants, saunas and beauty parlors, as well as bigger enterprises. A South Korean businessman, who runs a restaurant in Qingyang District, Qingdao said, "Members of Haksewui or organized gangs extort a certain amount of money from us every month. They often come and eat without paying. It's much more difficult to do business here than in Korea."
Blackmail is common. Late last year, a 42-year-old South Korean owner of a food factory in Pingdao killed himself because he had been unable to withstand threats and harrassment by local residents, who demanded a toll for the road leading to the main gate of the factory.
The year of the Beijing Olympics is likely to be worse for businesses operating in China. As of 2008, a new labor law which strengthens workers' rights and a new corporate income tax law which levies 25 percent taxes on both domestic and foreign-owned companies will come into effect (15-24 percent income taxes are currently imposed on foreign-owned companies). New land use taxes will be imposed on all foreign-owned companies.
There are about 5,000 South Korean businesses in Qingdao. Many of them are profitable. But many other labor-intensive companies, including textile, sewing, accessories, and electronic components, have reached a crisis.
Sung Jung-han, the secretary general of the Korean Society and Enterprise Association in Qingdao, said, "Businessmen here are pessimistic. They say about 10 percent, or 500 Korean companies, will likely close down before the lunar New Year, and about 20 percent, or 1,000 companies, will leave during the first half of this year due to their failure to adapt to the changing business environment in China. Many South Koreans are concerned about human rights violations." Hwang Chae-won, the deputy chief of the Korea Trade Center, Qingdao, said, "The home government should work out ways of dealing with the night flights of Korean business owners and abduction and assault of Korean nationals which happen here."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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