One more downtown duty-free shop will open in Seoul starting next year. Dongwha Duty Free, the country's first downtown duty-free shop, secured its license again and will continue operating a duty-free business in Seoul.
On the 18th, the Korea Customs Service said it held the bonded store license review committee and finalized the results for issuing a new downtown duty-free license in Seoul. Dongwha Duty Free and Myeong-dong Duty Free, two operators, received licenses.
The evaluation scores were 752.33 points for Dongwha Duty Free and 696.50 points for Myeong-dong Duty Free. However, Dongwha Duty Free is an existing operator that reapplied ahead of its license expiration at the end of this year, so the only operator actually newly entering downtown Seoul is Myeong-dong Duty Free.
Myeong-dong Duty Free plans to secure retail space near Myeong-dong Station on Seoul Subway Line 4. A company official said, "We are carrying out preparation work, including interior construction, with the goal of opening in the first half of next year."
Dongwha Duty Free, which opened in 1973, is Korea's first downtown duty-free shop. It built its name in the past by fronting luxury brands, but recently shifted its strategy to focus on domestic brands such as K-beauty and K-fashion. The move targets demand from Chinese and Southeast Asian tourists.
With this license approval, Dongwha Duty Free will be able to continue operating a duty-free business in downtown Seoul for the next 10 years. The industry expects that with a new operator entering and an existing operator being relicensed at the same time, competition among downtown duty-free shops in Seoul will be partially reshaped.