By Park Jin-hai
Small-store owners want Lotte to stop work on its new shopping complex in Sangam-dong.
They have organized a committee to take collective action against the heavyweight retailer.
“It will completely destroy mom-and-pop shops in the neighborhood,” said an official from the emergency committee. “The Seoul Metropolitan Government and Mapo District Office should hold hearings to evaluate the impact of the shopping mall on the region’s overall business by listening to people’s voices.”
Lotte plans to break the ground for the shopping mall in the latter half of this year. The complex will include a department store, a movie theater and a discount store on 33,000 square meters of land.
The area is already crowded with big and small retail shops. The proposed complex is within one kilometer of Mapo traditional market. Two other traditional markets are also in the vicinity. A total of 116 discount stores and department stores are within 5 kilometers.
Sales at small shops near the three major shopping centers ― Yeongdeungpo Time Square, Paju Shinsegae Outlet and Lotte Premium Outlet ― have plummeted 50 percent since the centers opened, says the National Association
of Retail Merchants.
Lotte Group, the nation’s fifth-largest conglomerate, has set its sights on expanding its shopping complexes to boost its sluggish retail business.
The company is waiting for the result of consultation with the district office and final approval from Seoul Metropolitan City.
Earlier this month, angry small-shop owners convened in front of Seoul City Hall and held a press conference, calling for the city government to scrap the plan.
Lawmakers are also calling for a review.
Rep. Oh Kyung-hwan of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) said at a recent Seoul Metropolitan Council meeting, ”When the shopping complex opens it will create havoc in the mom-and-pop stores, small-alley businesses and the whole economy of north western Seoul.”
Rep. Kim Jin-chul of the same party also called for the conglomerate to make sure its new shopping center would not damage smaller shops in the district.
Lotte officials were not immediately available for comment.