January 20, 2010

Koreans will no longer have to visit other countries to enjoy Universal Studios’s Hollywood movie-themed attractions. Soon, they can simply take a train or drive to Hwaseong in Gyeonggi to find Universal’s largest resort.

The world-famous theme park signed a memorandum of agreement with a consortium of Korean conglomerates, including Lotte Group, operator of the country’s second-largest retailer Lotte Shopping, and Posco Engineering and Construction, the largest subsidiary of the steel giant Posco, yesterday at the Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, central Seoul.

Under the agreement, a project financing vehicle comprised of 15 partners, including Lotte Asset Development and Posco E&C, will raise capital according to the amount of their shares. Nearly 3 trillion won ($2.67 billion) will be injected into the project. The initial capital investment will be about 400 billion won.

Unlike Universal Studios parks in Hollywood, Japan, and a nearly completed park on Singapore’s Sentosa Island, the Korean park will be designed as a multi-resort complex consisting of a theme park, city walk, water park, premium retail outlet, golf course, theme hotels, as well as condominiums.

In terms of size, the Universal Studios resort to be built in Korea on 1.32 million pyeong (roughly 4.35 million square meters) of land in Songsan Green City in Hwaseong will be Asia’s largest. Looking at the size of the resort, excluding a golf course, the Korean park will take up around 2.97 million square meters, about three times larger than the park in Osaka and roughly twice the size of the resort in Orlando, according to Lee Sun-yeol, an official from Gyeonggi’s Universal Studios Korea Resort committee.

The deal was initially announced in late 2007 but was held up due to a capital shortage until Lotte Group was persuaded by Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-soo last year to join the project as the largest shareholder.

Lotte Asset Development will have a 26.7 percent stake, followed second by Posco E&C’s 24.4 percent. Gyeonggi Governor Kim underlined huge support from the government during his opening remarks at the ceremony, citing efforts exerted by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs in enhancing the accessibility of the site.

“This project will eventually provide new jobs for around 10,000 people and generate indirect employment for around 100,000, and I am confident that Korea’s west coast region will eventually turn into a ‘gold coast,'” Kim also said during a press conference held after the signing ceremony yesterday.

Universal Parks & Resorts CEO Thomas Williams expressed his strong confidence in the success of the project. He said the company chose Hwaseong because the region had “flat land” and a “seashore.” Williams also said director Steven Spielberg, a creative consultant to Universal Parks and Resorts, has decided to take part in the project.

Construction is expected to start early next year and be completed by 2014.

By Jung Jae-yoon [jyj222@joongang.co.kr]

(JoongAng Ilbo)
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2915543