Landmark shopping mall opened by Lotte

The Lotte Group, a retail giant based in South Korea, is set to open the nation’s biggest shopping mall, Lotte World Mall, in the Jamsil region of southern Seou.

A president of the group said he was very pleased to see the first step being taken in the company’s dream of building a global landmark in Korea. 

Presently, Lotte’s attention is focused on completing the mall on time and in promoting this large shopping center.

According to the Lotte Group, the mall offers a variety of shopping and entertainment opportunities that has not been seen across Asia.
Some of the facilities include a top-end department store carrying luxury goods, a movie theatre with the world’s widest screen and the third-largest duty free store globally.  Language support and other services for foreign visitors will be available as the owners are expecting many visitors from China.

It is estimated that the mall will accumulate annual sales of around US$1.5 trillion and 6000 new jobs will be created. More than 960 luxury brands will be sold in the new mall. 

This may all sound very exciting, but controversy surrounds the building as regards safety and traffic congestion.  Jamsil is one of the largest residential districts in southern Seoul and has suffered from intense traffic congestion, which could be worsened by the opening of a new mall.

In a bid to relieve this problem, Lotte World Mall has been forced by Seoul City to offer parking spaces only to those who make advance bookings, but this will cause immense inconvenience to shoppers.

The group is prepared to work closely with the city officers to improve the traffic flow and limit any inconvenience to visitors.

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