The Grand Hyatt Seoul, a five-star hotel located near Namsan in central Seoul will have a new owner, JS Corp., a Kospi-listed company and South Korea’s leading handbag manufacturer with more than 1 trillion won ($758 million) in sales.

JS announced Thursday that it established a special purpose company, JS 747, to acquire a stake in the luxury hotel. It disclosed that it will invest 100 billion won for the acquisition.

JS 747 was set up jointly by JS and BlueCove Investment Real Estate Fund (REF) No. 1. JS 747 will have Seoul Miramar Corp. that owns the Grand Hyatt Seoul as a subsidiary.

JS is also the investor of the BlueCove REF No. 1. The company invested 90 billion won in the fund while BlueCove Investment and RSQUARE invested a combined 10 billion won. JS owns 95 percent in the fund.

The luxury hotel will be managed by JS 747 starting this month.

The Grand Hyatt Seoul, which opened in July 1978, is one of the most historic hotels in Korea, which covers some 60,000 square meters and houses 615 rooms.

The hotel has hosted U.S. presidents, including incumbent Joe Biden, Donald Trump and Barack Obama during their visits to Korea.

The Grand Hyatt Seoul attracts many business travelers in the city. Thanks to its location with a view of the Han River from the foot of Namsan, it has been one of the most representative hotels in the country for 45 years.

“We invested 190 billion won and secured a 95 percent stake in the hotel,” said JS Chief Executive Officer Hong Jae-sung. “As the largest shareholder, we will operate the hotel with responsibility to make it the best attraction in the city.

Hong said that the company has experience in operating hotels in Busan and Jeju. Its background in fashion will be an asset to hotel operations, he added.

The company believes that the hotel business is back in fashion, with a growing number of tourists visiting Seoul as the pandemic wanes.

“Travelers from all over the world are coming back to Seoul, and profitability in hotel management is rapidly improving,” JS said. The company also revealed a plan to renovate the rooms and food and beverage facilities to create a trendier space.

By Hong Sung-yong and Chang Iou-chung

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