SOUTH KOREA. Lotte Duty Free is set for a long-awaited return to Incheon International Airport after being named the preferred bidder for the DF1 concession by Incheon International Airport Corporation following the recent tender.
Hyundai Duty Free, the only other bidder, is the preferred candidate for DF2. One company could not win both contracts, each of which embraces (separate) perfume & cosmetics and liquor & tobacco offers across multiple stores (see table below).
Lotte Duty Free offered a minimum guarantee (VAT included) of KRW5,345 (US$3.68) per departing passenger for DF1 and Hyundai KRW5,394 (US$3.72) – see concession scope table below.
Under the Korean regulatory system, Korea Customs Service now assesses the bids but given that no other parties bid – including the incumbents Shinsegae Duty Free and The Shilla Duty Free, who each quit their contracts last year having failed to renegotiate terms with the IIAC in attempts to stem heavy losses – the regulatory body’s decision is set to be a rubberstamping exercise.
Lotte Duty Free will therefore return to the Republic’s main gateway for the first time since 31 July 2018, the day it walked away from its DF1, DF5 and DF8 concessions citing the burden of rent increases following a sharp downturn in Chinese tourists in 2017 amid the THAAD dispute with China.
Hyundai Duty Free, which already runs the DF5 boutiques concession at Incheon, will be pleased to extend its airport presence to complement the downtown Trade Center business in Gangnam, Seoul. As reported, the travel retailer closed its Dongdaemun, Seoul store on 31 July 2025, a victim of challenging market conditions.
Shilla and Shinsegae are set to exit their multi-store Incheon contracts on 17 March and 27 April 2026, respectively.
The new concessions will run from the starting day of operation until 30 June 2033 (the tenure can be extended once during the concession period with a ten-year limit)
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