Hanwha Galleria, a retail unit of Hanwha Group, is seeking to set up an urban duty-free store in the landmark Hanwha 63 City building in Yeouido, southern Seoul, if it wins a business license in June.

It is the latest move among companies vying for the three urban duty-free slots newly allocated in Seoul.

“Hanwha finalized its decision to house the shop at the site after considering the surrounding environment and economic development of the surrounding district, such as convenience for foreign tourists and the tourism infrastructure,” a Hanwha official said. The 249-meter-tall high-rise building is owned by Hanwha Group.


If Hanwha Galleria wins the bid, it will transform the Hanwha 63 City scraper into an iconic attraction for Seoul by offering a cultural and shopping experience with 26,400 square meters of entertainment facilities along with a 9,900-square-meter duty-free store.

Six companies ― SK Networks, Shinsegae Department Store, Lotte Department Store, Hyundai Department Store and a joint venture between Hotel Shilla and Hyundai Development Co. ― have expressed their intention to join the bid. The Korea Customs Service will open the bid in June.

Hanwha Galleria said it has reached a profit in its duty-free operations at Jeju International Airport launched in June last year, and its years of experience running the high-end Galleria Department Store in southern Seoul gave it a competitive edge over rivals.

Earlier this month, Hyundai Department Store Group said it planned to create its first urban duty-free store within its most lucrative department store in Samseong-dong, an affluent district in southern Seoul.

Hyundai Development and Hotel Shilla’s joint venture will run a duty-free store at the Seoul I’Park Mall in Yongsan, central Seoul, once it wins the license, the companies said.

By Park Han-na  (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)