Global home furnishing giant Ikea said it will sign an memorandum of understanding with the Gangdong-gu district office in southeastern Seoul on Thursday to cooperate in overseeing the construction of a new Ikea store inside the Godeok Commercial Multicomplex scheduled to open in 2017.

Ikea Korea’s country retail manager Andre Schmidtgall and Gangdong-gu chief Lee Hae-sik will establish a mutual partnership to ensure the smooth establishment of the Ikea Gangdong store ― one of four new Ikea stores set to open in the country by 2020.

By signing the MOU, Gangdong-gu will give administrative, infrastructural and legal support to Ikea. Meanwhile, the Swedish furniture company plans to promote mutual development with the local community by providing aid to small and medium-sized local businesses, creating new jobs for local citizens and taking part in social contribution programs.

Ikea’s first store in Korea opened in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, in December last year, attracting huge crowds and causing a stir in the local furniture industry.

Alongside Gandong-gu, the city of Goyang in Gyeonggi Province has also been listed as a potential site for Ikea stores to be built in the coming years.

(jys@heraldcorp.com)