Business giants fear chaos after Typhoon wreckage
South Korean business giants were bracing themselves for massive disruption to their exports today after the country’s worst typhoon on record wrecked its main port and left 115 people dead or missing.
At least 87 people were killed and 28 others were missing, feared dead, from Typhoon Maemi, which slammed into South Korea’s biggest port, Busan, on Friday with such intensity that it tossed shipping containers into the air and toppled gigantic cranes.
After battering the southern base of the country, the typhoon blew north along the coast on Saturday with winds reaching record speeds of 135mph before dissipating in the Sea of Japan yesterday.
The typhoon also triggered landslides that derailed a train, uprooted trees and downed power lines.
The government has allocated about €1bn for recovery efforts and estimated property damage alone at about €940m.
Losses from export slowdowns, disruptions and lost business opportunities were expected to amount to millions more. Busan normally handles 80% of the country’s container shipping.
“Typhoon Maemi damaged exports in Busan port and it may postpone the economic recovery expected in the fourth quarter,” said Daishin securities analyst Kim Dong-Uk.
The government may struggle to achieve even 3% growth this year and is unlikely to meet its target of 3.5% because of the typhoon, the Korea Times newspaper reported.
The Ministry of Commerce Industry and Energy said the typhoon caused a temporary halt to operations at 20 major companies on the south-eastern coast.
Today, shares of major export-dependent electronics companies, property insurers, shipbuilding, oil refining and petrochemical companies fell on the Korea Stock Exchange, opening for the first time since Tuesday after a five-day thanksgiving holiday.
Among companies expected to be hit are LG Electronics, South Korea’s second-largest mobile phone handset maker; Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilder; and Samsung, the world’s biggest computer memory chip maker.
Busan port handles 90% of LG’s exports such as televisions, refrigerators, and computer monitors. LG Electronics said it is considering switching deliveries from Busan to other ports to meet export deadlines.
“We report no damage so far, but plan to switch some 25% of our export to Gwangyang Port and Masan Port,” said an LG spokesman.
The typhoon toppled eight container-lifting cranes and damaged three others in Busan. Government officials said it would take at least 15 months to restore the cranes.
Samsung Electronics said its semiconductor goods and mobile phones, which account for 60% of its exports, were shipped out by air. But the remaining 40% of its exports go through Busan, comprising television sets, computer monitors and other electronic goods.
Hyundai Heavy Industries said one of its vessels collided with a chemical tanker being built at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, damaging both ships.
Two of South Korea’s five nuclear power plants that were shut down during the typhoon resumed operations today, yet thousands of homes were still without electricity and 7,000 people remained sheltered in public areas, their homes still uninhabitable.
South Korea is usually hit by several typhoons each summer and early autumn. In September last year, Typhoon Rusa left at least 119 dead. The deadliest typhoon to hit South Korea was Sara, which killed 849 people in 1959.
