Hyundai gets nod to build South Korea's tallest skyscraper for Gangnam HQ
Ioniq car
The Seoul city government said on Tuesday that it has approved the long-delayed construction ofHyundaiMotor Group's new headquarters in the affluent district ofGangnam, which is set to beSouthKorea'stallestskyscraperwhen completed in 2026.
The 569-meterbuilding will break ground in the first half of 2020, Seoul city said in a statement.
The approval came more than four years afterHyundaiMotor Group,SouthKorea'ssecond-largest conglomerate, offered to purchase the site with $10 billion in 2014, more than triple it's market price, outbidding Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and sparking a stock sell-off.
The construction, originally scheduled to commence in 2016, was delayed partly due to security concerns raised bySouthKorea'sair force, which said thebuilding would interfere with radar and military operations, a Seoul city official said.
Hyundaisigned an agreement with the defense ministry to resolve operational restrictions until the construction of thebuilding has reached around 260 meters high, the official said, adding that the construction can be suspended shouldHyundaifail to do so.
Thebuilding, consisting of 105 floors, will house not only offices but a car theme park, a hotel, a concert hall and a convention center, according to its 2014 plan. It will be home to 18,000 employees from 30 affiliates of the conglomerate, it said at the time.
HyundaiMotor said in March that it was in talks with potential investors to share additional investment costs worth about 3.7 trillion won needed to develop its new headquarters, following a call by UShedge fund Elliott Management Corp to drop the controversial project.
HyundaiMotor is trying to rebound from its sixth consecutive annual profit declines while accelerating its investments in future technologies.
Hyundaisaid it "will continue to work closely with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to proceed with the project in compliance with the administrative procedures.”