Obama to stay at Lotte-owned hotel in NY

By Lee Hyo-sik

The Lotte New York Palace Hotel

A New York Hotel acquired by Lotte Hotel in May will host U.S. President Barack Obama during the 70th U.N. General Assembly later this month, Korea’s fifth-largest business group said Monday.

Lotte bought the New York Palace Hotel in May for $805 million and renamed it to the Lotte New York Palace Hotel on Sept. 16.

“U.S. President Obama will stay at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel when he visits the city to attend the U.N meeting, which will begin Tuesday,” a Lotte Hotel spokeswoman said. “We will make all necessary preparations to accommodate his needs.”

Obama and his predecessors used to stay at the Waldorf Astoria, a landmark Park Avenue hotel. But after the hotel was acquired by a Chinese insurance company in October last year, the U.S. President decided to stay somewhere else, reportedly because of security reasons. Anbang Insurance Group purchased the hotel for nearly $2 billion.

Filling Obama’s absence, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to stay at the Waldorf Astoria.

Last Friday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that the presidential office reviewed all circumstances, including expenses and security, concerning where President Obama will stay in New York.

The Associated Press, Foreign Policy magazine and other U.S, media outlets have been reporting that Obama decided not to stay at the Waldorf Astoria out of concerns over a possible espionage attempt by the Chinese.

A Foreign Policy column on Sept. 8 alleged that fears of bugging are spreading within the U.S. government.

The New York Times also reported that the White House and the State Department, while vague about the reasons for the change, cited several factors, including security concerns.

Foreign Policy said the State Department plans to run its diplomatic operations out of the Lotte New York Palace, which was recently acquired and renamed by the hotel division of Lotte Group, a conglomerate from Korea, a close U.S. ally.

Obama will also host a dinner of heads of state and other senior dignitaries at the Palace hotel on Sept. 28, it said, citing a diplomat whose leader got an invitation.