[Photo] Gangnam Palace Hotel Closes Operations

As the COVID-19 pandemic prolonged, causing ongoing financial difficulties for the hospitality industry, a notice of business closure was posted on June 1 at the Sheraton Seoul Palace Gangnam Hotel in Seocho-gu, Seoul. This hotel, which began as Banpo Palace Hotel in 1982, was the first luxury hotel in Gangnam. Amid the spread of COVID-19, its sales from the first to third quarters last year dropped 40% compared to the same period the previous year, recording 16.9 billion KRW, while operating losses surged from 1.9 billion KRW to 8.6 billion KRW. The Sheraton Seoul Palace Gangnam was acquired by real estate developer The Land for 350 billion KRW, and it is reported that the hotel will be demolished to develop luxury residential apartments./Reporter Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@