Kia Motors’ Yancheng Plant in Jiangsu Province, China. (image: Kia Motors)
SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean businesses are increasingly leaving the Chinese market due to the prolonged U.S.-China trade dispute, rising labor costs, and a general economic downturn.
With increased concern over export tariffs due to the U.S.-China trade dispute, not to mention the slumping economy, many South Korean businesses are considering whether to shut down all operations in China.
“Fierce market competition, rising labor costs, taxes, obligatory social insurance fees, and other complex factors are driving South Korean companies away from China and into nearby Southeast Asian countries,” said Kim Gwang-hee, a legal expert.
Samsung Electronics Co. shut down its last smartphone assembly plant in the city of Huizhou, Guangdong Province last September.
Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. also shut down Beijing Hyundai Plant No.1 and Dongfeng Yueda Kia Plant No.1, respectively.
South Korean conglomerates leaving China have got partner companies pondering whether to shut down all Chinese operations as well.
“The intensifying U.S.-China trade dispute will disconnect the global value chain that used to connect the United States and China,” said professor Choi Byung-il from Ewha Women’s University Graduate School of International Studies.
“It is only a matter of time before businesses worldwide will begin to withdraw from China.”
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
