OREANDA-NEWS. Doosan Corporation announced on September 2 that it will apply for a duty-free operator license in a bid to open a duty-free shop in Doosan Tower, otherwise known as “Doota,” a famous shopping mall in Dongdaemun, downtown Seoul.

In the Doota shopping center, Doosan plans to designate a whole new floor for a duty-free shop without affecting the existing stores. This duty-free shop is expected to help promote tourism and businesses in the Dongdaemun shopping district.

“Dongdaemun is an optimal location for duty-free business considering the tourism, shopping and transportation infrastructure and a large number of foreign tourists,” said a relevant person of Doosan. “As we develop the business strategy, we take account of the voices of the stakeholders and merchants in the region and try to find the best way to contribute to the development of the region.”

Doosan has been running the Doota shopping mall for 16 year, which has become a landmark of Dongdaemun, drawing around 7 million foreign visitors annually. If Doosan wins the bid for the urban duty-free store operation, Dongdaemun will become a second tourism hub of Seoul, after Myeongdong.

“While Tokyo has three or four major tourism destinations such as Shibuya, Roppongi, and Shinjuku, all of which offer unique features in similar scales built in widespread areas, Seoul has everything concentrated in Myeongdong,” said a relevant person of Doosan. “That is why opening a duty-free shop is so important to further upgrade the tourism infrastructure in the Dongdaemun region.”