South Korea’s Myeongdong shopping district suffers rising store closures

The vacancy rate in South Korea reached 6.5% for small shops in South Korea.

The vacancy rate in South Korea’s famed Myeongdong shopping district has reached 43.3% due to the rising number of store closures and a steep drop in foreign tourists, Korea Bizwire reported based on data from the Korea Real Estate Board.

The vacancy rate for large-sized stores in South Korea has reached 9.5%, whilst those for small shops hit 6.5%. Vacancies in retail strips were at 31.9% in Itaewon and 22.6% in the Hongdae/Hapjeong neighbourhood.

Rental fees have also fallen, with the average rental fee for large-sized stores in the second quarter of this year dropping 0.21% than the previous quarter, reaching $22.18 (KRW25,500) per square meter.

Rental fees for small shops stood at 19,100 won per square meter, and aggregate stores at 27,000 won, for drops of 0.21% and 0.15%, respectively, since the previous quarter