One in Ten Stores Vacant in Yongsan Electronics Hub

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] The electronics district in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, known as a hub for electronic products, is reportedly experiencing a downturn due to the expansion of e-commerce.

According to the Commercial Information Research Institute on the 12th, the vacancy rate for medium to large commercial spaces in Yongsan in the fourth quarter of last year was 11.4%. This is 3.4 percentage points higher than the Seoul average vacancy rate of 8%. Compared to the third quarter of last year, when the vacancy rate was 9.1%, it increased by 2.9 percentage points.

The Commercial Information Research Institute analyzed, "Since the 2000s, perceptions of stores within the commercial district have changed, and while the number of internet shopping mall users has surged, the number of visitors to the commercial district has decreased, leading to a depressed atmosphere."

According to an analysis of the Yongsan electronics market district using SK Telecom's big data service platform GeoVision statistics by the Commercial Information Research Institute, the average daily floating population as of January this year was 158,813 people. On a monthly average basis, approximately 4.76 million people visit the Yongsan electronics market district.

Researcher Hyuntaek Cho of the Commercial Information Research Institute said, "For the Yongsan electronics market district to revitalize, it needs to develop experiential facilities such as entertainment and sightseeing, not just electronics stores, to find unique characteristics and competitiveness for the district."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.