Lotte Shopping Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony for 'Busan CFC' ... Busan City Accelerates Leap to Global Logistics Hub

On the 5th at 2 PM on-site, Mayor Park Hyung-jun, Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, Gyeongja Agency Chief Kim Ki-young, and others attended

MOU signed last March, collaboration system established among city, Gyeongja Agency, and Lotte Shopping, a

On the 5th at 2 PM, the city of Busan will hold the 'Busan CFC Groundbreaking Ceremony' at the Lotte Shopping Busan CFC construction site (Mium-dong, Gangseo-gu).

Aerial view of Busan CFC-1.

CFC (Customer Fulfillment Center) refers to an automated logistics center.

The groundbreaking ceremony will be attended by about 100 people, including Mayor Park Hyung-joon, Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, Vice Chairman Kim Sang-hyun, Tim Stein, CEO of UK-based Ocado, and Kim Ki-young, head of the Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone Authority. The event will proceed in the order of opening ceremony, congratulatory and commemorative speeches, and groundbreaking ceremony.

The reason this groundbreaking ceremony can be held within the year and construction can start early is that since Lotte Shopping signed a memorandum of understanding with the city in March regarding the establishment of the automated logistics center, Busan City, the Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone Authority, and Lotte Shopping have built a tripartite collaboration system and have been accelerating administrative procedures such as various permits.

With the goal of operation in the second half of 2025, the plan is to build an automated logistics center on a site of about 12,000 pyeong within the International Industrial Logistics City in Gangseo-gu, Busan. To this end, a total investment of 200 billion KRW will be made by 2025, and about 2,000 new employees, including production management, on-site workers, and delivery drivers, will be hired.

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin said, "It is very meaningful that Lotte is taking the first step in its new online grocery business in Busan," adding, "Starting with Busan CFC, Lotte will showcase the best online grocery platform in Korea in partnership with Ocado."

To expand its online business, Lotte Shopping signed a partnership agreement last year with the UK online supermarket company Ocado and plans to invest 1 trillion KRW by 2030. The CFC being constructed in Busan will be the first nationwide CFC applying Ocado's system.

Also, since it will be built as a smart logistics center dedicated to online groceries, Lotte Shopping plans to actively cooperate in mutual growth with the region by supporting digital market expansion for local small businesses and expanding the entry of locally produced products into Lotte stores.

The International Industrial Logistics City, where Lotte Shopping's smart logistics center will be located, is adjacent to Busan New Port and the Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone, boasting the best logistics transportation network nationwide.

A Busan city official stated, "Following Lotte Shopping, smart logistics centers by Coupang, LX International, and BGF Retail, which signed memorandums of understanding with our city, are also preparing for groundbreaking. Once large-scale smart logistics centers by global logistics companies are completed, Busan will grow into a true global logistics hub."

Mayor Park Hyung-joon said, "We expect this groundbreaking ceremony to further accelerate Busan's leap into a global logistics hub city," adding, "Lotte, a company with deep ties to Busan, will grow together with the local community and become a strong supporter for revitalizing Busan's economy. Our city will continue to provide administrative support without hesitation."

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