Chosun fixes eyes on duty free market

Sung Young-mok, CEO Of the Shinsegae Chosun Hotel in Seoul, said Wednesday that his company will look aggressively at opportunities to enter the duty free market.

“We would like to play a role in advancing the duty free market in Korea,” Sung said.

His remarks came amid the observation that Lotte and the Shilla duty free shops account for 85 percent of the local market. The two recently did not enter the bidding for duty free outlets at Jeju Airport, to give medium-sized duty free operators a chance.

“We may be a large-sized group, but we only take up about 2.3 percent of the market,” Sung said, explaining why Shinsegae Chosun Hotel is gearing to expand its presence in the duty free market.

Sung also noted that this year, the hotel marks its centennial, a meaningful milestone for the company. The hotel was built in 1914, and purchased by Shinsegae in 1995.