1,000 policemen are stationed on duty, blockading main roads to the golf course

SEONGJU, REPUBLIC OF KOREA - When they heard the news that Lotte had signed a contract with the Defense Ministry to exchange its golf course for military land, they fell into great panic. The bad feeling lasted for days, making the naive, old farmers wandering what to do.

Lotte International, a unit of Lotte Group, the country's fifth-largest family-controlled conglomerate, agreed on Feb 27 to a land swap deal for the US missile defense system - Terminal High Altitude Area Defense. It was formally signed with the military the following day.