Uiwang City "Lotte Shopping Mall Construction in Hakui-dong to Proceed as Scheduled"

[Suwon Ilbo=Correspondent Seo Dong-young] Uiwang City announced on the 24th that it will proceed with the construction of the Baekun Valley Lotte Shopping Mall in the Hakui-dong area of Uiwang City, which Lotte Shopping had decided to suspend tentatively, according to schedule.

The Lotte Shopping Mall in Baekun Valley signed a land purchase agreement in 2016, commenced construction in June 2018, and is currently proceeding with two-story steel frame work at a 33% completion rate.

The project was originally scheduled to begin in 2017 but was postponed to 2018 due to the fallout from the THAAD deployment. Recently, media reports emerged that Lotte Shopping decided to suspend the mall construction indefinitely due to business deficits resulting from COVID-19.

The city conducted consultations to prevent construction suspension, considering safety concerns that would arise from a halt in work, resident inconvenience, harm to construction workers, and the fact that extended construction periods would hinder regional economic revitalization. However, the city faced difficulties in preparing countermeasures as there was no aspect that could be forcibly enforced through administrative authority.

Uiwang City Mayor Kim Sang-don met with Lotte Shopping officials on the 23rd and sufficiently explained the city's position regarding the Lotte Shopping Mall construction. According to the city, Lotte Shopping responded that it will proceed with the shopping mall construction as scheduled.