Bloomberg (March 21)
The so-called skyscraper curse has claimed another victim. “After almost seven years of planning and 4 trillion won ($3.6 billion) in spending, the conglomerate is preparing to unwrap its Lotte World Tower to the public.” Like other skyscrapers planned in the best of times, this unveiling is taking place amid challenging times as South Korea “is being pummeled by concurrent political and economic crises.” Morevoer, “the debut couldn’t come at a worse time for Lotte…. The empire’s 94-year-old founder and three of his children face corruption charges, and its stores are at the epicenter of Chinese consumer retaliation for a U.S. missile-defense system being installed on land it provided.” Making things even worse, an elevator glitch has delayed the grand opening by two weeks.
Tags: China, Corruption, Crises, Delay, Elevator, Founder, Lotte World Tower, Missile defense, Planning, Retaliation, Skyscraper curse, South Korea, U.S., Victim
