Seoul City is moving to decide whether to open the lower floors of Lotte’s unfinished new skyscraper by early October, officials said Sunday.
Parts of the Lotte World retail complex in Songpa district, southern Seoul, were set to open earlier this month, but officials deferred a final decision amid mounting public concern over the building’s safety and worsening traffic congestion.
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| The Lotte World Tower in Jamsil, southeastern Seoul. (Yonhap) |
Fears that the building was sitting on top of a massive sinkhole motivated officials to look for potential safety hazards that may have been overlooked.
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon is expected to make a final decision on whether to allow the opening of the lower floors once he returns from a trip to the U.S. on Tuesday.
“A final decision will be made after considering all the possible consequences of opening the skyscraper,” a Seoul metropolitan government official said.
“Safety concerns, efforts made by Lotte officials to address existing problems, and comments by experts will be taken into account.”
The Lotte World retail complex is set to be completed by 2016. Once finished, the complex’s skyscraper is expected to be the tallest building in Korea, reaching 123 stories over 500 meters.
City officials said recent inspections showed no particular signs the building could pose a major safety threat, although experts said more than 8,000 tons of water from a nearby lake had disappeared for unknown reasons. The water could be flowing into sinkholes below the building, they said.
Traffic congestion could also be exacerbated once the building opened.
Officials estimated that traffic would increase by close to 50 percent once the building opened, worsening the nearby congestion at rush hour.
In response, Lotte officials have promised to strictly limit the number of cars visiting the complex.
“Lotte officials have vowed to close their parking lots if the number of cars trying to access the complex goes beyond a certain limit,” a city official said.
By Jeong Hunny (hj257@heraldcorp.com)
