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The Lotte Department Store Gwangbok Store in Busan is forcibly closed from tomorrow (the 1st).

Since Lotte said it would build a Lotte Tower that would become a landmark in Busan, the city of Busan gave permission for temporary use from the department store right next door.



This is KNN reporter Pyo Jung-gyu.



<Reporter> The



city of Busan has officially announced that it will not extend the approval for temporary use of the Gwangbok branch.



Accordingly, Lotte Department Store Gwangbok Branch will be closed from tomorrow (1st).



The department store has announced that it will close its own day tomorrow, but the shutdown will start regardless.



The immediate closing of the Gwangbok Store means that 800 companies and 3,000 people who have entered the store are all working together.



The operation suspension of the Lotte Gwangbok branch is due to the Lotte Tower, which was planned to be built as a landmark in Busan right next to the Gwangbok branch.



The 56th floor, which was half of the original plan, even passed the landscape review, but the city of Busan is still suspicious of Lotte's will.



[Pilhan Kim / Director of Architecture and Housing Bureau of Busan City: We announced that we will not review the extension approval that ends on May 31.

We do not yet have solid confidence in our will to proceed.]



The city of Busan said that this situation would be prolonged without the firm will of Lotte's top management to pursue the business.



As the suspension of the Gwangbok Store has an adverse effect on the original downtown area in Nampo-dong, there are voices calling for a quick resolution.



Lotte Department Store, which is facing business suspension, is in the position to do its best.



[Jeong Ho-kyung / Lotte Department Store Public Relations Team Manager: We clearly have the sincerity of what we want to do, and we will quickly fill in the gaps and resume business, and hope that Lotte Tower will complete the construction as soon as possible in line with the wishes of our customers...

.]



How Lotte, who has become a shepherd boy, can come up with a reliable solution is expected to be the key to unraveling the business suspension.



(Video coverage: KNN Eun-seong Park, Video editing: KNN Ji-young Byun)