Lotte skyscraper gets press viewing

Soaring 555 meters into the sky in southern Seoul, Lotte World Tower is a behemoth of a building filled with everything from high-end offices to serviced residences and an observation deck.

South Korea’s tallest building was unveiled to the press Tuesday morning ahead of its grand opening to the public on April 3.

The location for the building was chosen in December 1987, and construction began on the 4 trillion-won structure in 2010.

“Skyscrapers like the Lotte World Tower are often pursued by governments as public projects because they are unprofitable considering the cost of building them,” said Lotte Corp. CEO Park Hyun-chul at a press conference ahead of the tour. “Lotte World Tower reflects the desire of founder Shin Kyuk-ho to contribute to his country through his business.”

After the tower’s grand opening on April 3, Lotte Corp. estimates that the attraction will create an economic effect of 10 trillion won per year, when combined with the existing attractions such as the amusement park Lotte World and the gigantic Lotte World Mall.

Lotte World Tower houses a “Podium” consisting of a finance center, medical center, fitness center, and gallery from its 1st to 12th floors. The 14th to 38th floors offer prime offices, followed by the Signiel serviced residences to the 71st floor, and the Signiel Hotel from the 76th to 101st floors. 

The 108th to 114th floors will be used as premium private offices, and the observation deck Seoul Sky takes up the 117th to 123rd floors.

Seoul Sky is the third-highest observation deck in the world, and holds three Guinness World Records for the highest glass-floor observation deck, the fastest double-deck elevator, and the longest distance traveled via double-deck elevator. The two Sky Shuttle elevators run at 600 meters per minute with a joint capacity of just over 100 people. 

The observatory, which can hold up to 900 visitors at once, offers visitors a view as far as 40 kilometers away in fair weather.

The public opening for the observation deck was pushed back from Wednesday to April 3 following an incident involving the Sky Shuttle elevators. On Sunday, one of the elevators stopped moving with 39 people on board during a private opening event for Lotte employees and their families. 

At Tuesday’s press conference, a representative from Lotte said that the elevator glitch was a simple “tuning” problem involving the sensors and that it had “no effect on visitor safety.” Over the next week, Lotte plans to run “detailed tests” together with technicians from Otis Elevator, which installed the Sky Shuttle.

Unlike the adjacent Lotte World Mall and Lotte World, the Lotte World Tower is designed primarily for companies and individuals renting space in the tower than the public. With separate entrances and elevators for the office spaces, hotels, and Seoul Sky, the tower is not built to be a tourist experience as a whole. 

For example, if tourists staying at the Signiel hotel wish to visit Seoul Sky, they must go down from the 79th floor to the basement floors, then take the Seoul Sky elevator to the top. 

The main concept dominating the facilities in the tower is luxury. The six-star Signiel Hotel’s rooms start at 650,000 won a night, with the Royal Suite going for 20 million won, boasting an excellent view of Seoul and the Han River and top-of-the-line service. 

The hotel features Stay, a restaurant by Michelin three-star chef Yannick Alleno, on the 81st floor. The chef will be in charge of creating the room service and banquet menus at the hotel as well, meaning that all food served at Signiel will be Michelin quality, according to general manager Morten Anderson.

The residential suites are priced at approximately 70 million won per 3.3 square meters. 

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin was expected to move into the residences at around the opening date, but Lotte Corp. CEO Park said that the move had been postponed due to “current issues within the group.” Shin and his family are currently undergoing trial for embezzlement and intentional mismanagement of their businesses.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)