S. Korean shop owners, customers boycott Japanese goods over trade spat and history row

"일본제품 매대에서 뺀다"…중소상인들 불매운동 선언Amid the Seoul-Tokyo trade friction,... a growing number of South Koreans, both consumers and shopowners, are beginning to reject Japanese products.Scores of small business owners on Friday have pledged to stop selling Japanese goods in their shops.Oh Soo-young reports.Some 200 store owners in Korea have vowed not to carry Japanese products on their shelves,... following Tokyo's trade action on key high-tech exports to Korea.On Friday, two dozen representatives from an umbrella group representing 100-thousand small-and-medium sized firms held a joint press conference outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul.The group announced the boycott, criticizing the Japanese government's latest export measures which are largely seen as an act of retaliation over contentious historical issues.The merchants said, instead of showing remorse for Japan's wartime atrocities such as its sexual enslavement of Korean women and forced labour programs,... the Abe administration is, instead, choosing provocative action.Their boycott will begin with small local supermarkets and convenience stores but the movement is expected to expand."Our small business owners are taking a stand, even compromising their livelihoods by refusing to sell Japanese goods. These are usually cigarettes, beer, and beverages but we will expand the boycott to other sectors. Even service providers are taking part. Screen golf business owners, for instance, will no longer use Japanese golf balls or gloves in their establishments."A growing number of consumers are also taking a stand against Japanese brands and products, including clothing brands like Uni Qlo, Sony and Canon electronics and Asahi and Kirin beers.As of Friday, nearly 25-thousand people have signed a petition on Korea's presidential office website,... requesting action against Japan's export measures,... including a boycott of Japanese products and travel to Japan.Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.