Lotte mulls Lotte World Tower spruce-up to rival Azabudai Hills Tower

Lotte Group is considering sprucing up the Lotte World Tower in Seoul, the tallest building in South Korea, to maintain its position as a landmark skyscraper in Asia.

Azabudai Hills, a complex of three skyscrapers, was unveiled in the heart of Tokyo on Nov. 23, encompassing Azabudai Hills Mori JP Tower, now the tallest building in Japan.

Completed after 34 years of construction, the complex houses offices, residences, a hotel, an international school, retail shops, restaurants and cultural facilities.

Now Lotte Group is considering making additional development in the so-called Jamsil Lotte World Town, home to the Lotte World Tower. It encompasses the largest amusement park in Seoul, residences, cultural facilities and shopping malls.

The amusement park Lotte World Adventure opened in 1989, the same year the Azabudai Hills project began.

Then Lotte embarked on the construction of the Lotte World Tower in 2011. The South Korean retail group spent 4.5 trillion won ($3.4 billion) on the construction of the world’s sixth-tallest building.

By comparison, Mori Building, the developer of Azabudai Hills Mori JP Tower, injected 5.4 trillion won into the Azabudai Hills project.

The tower has 64 floors and is 330 meters tall. The Lotte World Tower is 555 meters tall with 123 stories.

 
Visitors to Lotte World Tower increased from about 138,000 in 2019 to 145,000 as of the end of October this year.

Earlier this year, CNN recommended the Lotte World Tower as an attraction for New Year’s events in Asia. It was the first time that Seoul joined the news channel’s list of tourist attractions in the region.

To retain its fame as a landmark tower in Asia, Lotte is looking to expand the Jamsil Lotte World Town in southeastern Seoul.

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin is considering developing the 9,917-square-meter land used as a bus parking lot, located between the Lotte World Adventure and Galleria Palace, a residential-commercial complex, said an official familiar with the situation.

CASINOS

Market talk is that Lotte is in discussions to launch a luxury casino within Signiel Seoul Hotel inside the Lotte World Tower to attract foreign tourists. If realized, the tower could be a new location for Paradise Casino, which operates casinos in Walkerhill Hotel in eastern Seoul.

Paradise Casino is South Korea's largest foreigners-only casino operator.

An official from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that it might be feasible to move the casino facilities from Walkerhill Hotel to Lotte World Tower. But the ministry has not received any application yet in that regard, he added.

In other parts of north Asia, Shanghai Tower in Pudong, Shanghai, is also vying for the top spot as a landmark tower. The world’s third tallest building, unveiled in 2015, has 128 floors and is 632 meters high.

Write to Dong-Hui Park at donghuip@hankyung.com
 

Yeonhee Kim edited this article.