Lotte Department Store in Busan / Korea Times file

A branch of Lotte Department Store in the southern port city of Busan will close, after the local government decided Tuesday not to extend its license due to the company's reluctance to build a related landmark commercial and residential building.

The city government gave temporary approval to the department store's Gwangbok branch in 2009 in connection with Lotte Shopping's plan to build a 107-story Lotte Tower downtown.

The Busan Metropolitan Government said it decided not to extend the license, which expired Tuesday, saying the company continued to delay the construction of the Lotte Tower and did not show a firm willingness to push forward with the project.

The company announced the 107-story, 428-meter-high commercial and residential building in 2000.

But the plan made little progress, and Lotte changed its design in 2019, scaling it down to a 56-story, 300-meter structure.

Accordingly, the Gwangbok branch store, as well as its aquarium and amusement facility, will be closed Wednesday. More than 3,000 people work at the department store with more than 800 shops.

Lotte has been criticized for profiting from the department store while procrastinating on the project. (Yonhap)