Tallest Building in the World to be Constructed in Seoul

The tallest skyscraper in the world will be constructed in Jamshil, Seoul.

Lotte Corp. announced on February 1 that it is planning to construct a 200-story building on the company`s site in Shincheon-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul. The site had originally been reserved for expanding Lotte World, an amusement park owned by Lotte Group. The projected structure will be 800m in height, and the entire area will amount to 26,500 pyong.

If materialized, the new skyscraper will be far taller than Taipei 101 Finance Center located in Taipei, currently the tallest building in the world, as well as the 700m, 160-story Burj Dubai Tower, to be constructed in Dubai, UAE, by Samsung Corp.

Lotte`s initial plan was to build a 112-story (approximately 555m) building, but the company is allegedly willing to change the plan upon the Seoul Metropolitan government`s approval.

According to one Seoul official, the Seoul Metropolitan government does not see any reason to reject the plan and will approve the plan upon receiving an official request.

Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak, in an interview with Dong-A Ilbo, expressed his interest in the new plan, saying, "In order for the city to represent both a modern and historical image, we might need a new symbolic structure," and added that he sees the plan as very constructive.

The Korean Air Force expressed fear that a tall building might interfere with safe airport operations since the construction site happens to be adjacent to the Seoul Military Airport located in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. The Korean Air Force conveyed its stance to the Song-pa district office that the maximum building height should be lower than 203m for safe airport operations.

According to one Seoul City government official, the construction site is classified as an adjacent area, not an aviation safety area, therefore not subject to Air Force`s approval for construction. He also said that Seoul government is ready to talk about the issue with the Air Force.

Lotte Corp. already hired a foreign company to design the skyscraper, and if approved by the Seoul government, the construction will start from early 2006. The budget will amount to 1.5 trillion won, and the building will be used as shopping mall, offices, and hotel.

Jong-Dae Ha Tae-Hun Hwang orionha@donga.com beetlez@donga.com