新世界集团旗下地产公司拟与OKO设立5亿美元Aman豪华酒店开发合资公司

Chung Yong-jin, chairman of Shinsegae Group, is pursuing a global luxury real estate development business as a new growth engine for the group. It marks another new venture for Chung, following his push into artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. As Shinsegae Group pursues the separation of its E-mart and department store affiliates, the group is reshaping its portfolio from a domestic-focused, retail-centered structure toward a global, space-and-technology orientation.
According to Shinsegae Group on the 21st, Shinsegae Property, the group's asset development affiliate, has decided to establish a joint venture (JV) with OKO Group to develop hotels and resorts under the global luxury hotel brand Aman. OKO Group is a company that oversees the development of hotels and residences under the Aman brand, and is owned together with Aman Group by Vladislav Doronin, the chairman, owner and chief executive officer (CEO) of Aman Group.
The two groups will raise $500 million (about 750 billion won) in initial investment for the joint venture. The joint venture will first pursue the development of hotels and residences under Aman Group's luxury brands Aman and Janu in Asia and North America, and will also cooperate on mixed-use commercial real estate development at home and abroad.
Aman is a luxury hospitality brand founded in 1988 that operates 36 hotels, resorts and residences in 21 countries. At Amangiri, located in the middle of the Utah desert in the United States, a night's stay currently costs about $6,000 (about 8.8 million won), while Aman New York runs about $3,500 (about 5.15 million won).
The collaboration is said to have been led personally by Chung. Chung and Doronin recently signed the JV establishment agreement in person at the Josun Palace hotel in Seoul. It came just a month after Chung concurrently took on the role of Shinsegae Property CEO last month, and with this agreement, Shinsegae Group's real estate development business will expand overseas. "This reflects our conviction that Shinsegae Property's development model, proven in Korea, can be effectively applied in the global hospitality market," Chung said. "We will set a new standard in the global luxury hospitality market."
"I share Chairman Chung's long-term vision of creating original projects that resonate with travelers, residents and communities around the world," Doronin said. "Based on the expertise of both companies, we will together explore outstanding development opportunities on the global stage."
This is the second agreement Chung has led with a global company this year. In March, Chung signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Misha Laskin, CEO of Reflection AI, in San Francisco, the United States, to build a 250-megawatt AI data center, the largest of its kind in Korea. With the two consecutive agreements, Shinsegae Group's business scope has expanded into AI infrastructure and global luxury real estate development.
The industry is paying attention to the fact that these successive moves to find new businesses come as Shinsegae Group's affiliate separation is under way. Shinsegae Group formalized the affiliate separation during its regular executive reshuffle in October 2024. The structure divides the group into E-mart, led by Chung, and the department store division, led by Chairman Chung Yu-kyung. Currently, most of the stakes other than the stake in unlisted e-commerce affiliate SSG.com have been sorted out, and the industry observes that the completion of the affiliate separation is imminent.
Chung's strengthening of new businesses, from AI data centers to global luxury hotel development, is interpreted as a move to reinforce the group's size and growth momentum, which could shrink due to the affiliate separation. According to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), the combined asset total of Shinsegae Group's department store and E-mart divisions currently stands at 75 trillion won, ranking 11th among Korea's conglomerates. Since the assets of Shinsegae Inc., which operates the department stores, amount to 16 trillion won, a reduction in size upon separation is inevitable.
The hotel industry expects that discussions on launching an Aman Group brand hotel in Korea will also gain momentum following this deal. According to the industry, Shinsegae Property is currently in talks over introducing a hotel bearing an Aman Group brand at the site of the Prima Hotel in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul.