South Korea's Lotte Group said Chinese authorities have halted construction at a multibillion dollar real estate project in the northeastern city of Shenyang after a fire inspection.
South Korean media have described a string of inspections at Lotte's Chinese ventures as retaliation over the government's decision to deploy the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system on land that is currently part of a golf course owned by Lotte.
Since December, Chinese authorities have conducted fire inspections, facility inspections or tax investigations at most of Lotte's business locations in China including some 120 retail stores, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.