AK Plaza is a South Korean department store franchise owned by the Aekyung Industrial Co. Ltd.
History
Hyung-suk Chah (채형석) began construction of the first department store in March 1991 in Guro District, Seoul.[2] The store opened on September 10, 1993, as the Aekyung Department Store.[1] The store had five basement floors and seven aboveground floors, with a total cost of 120 billion won (120 million US dollars).[1] The success of the Guro store was allegedly used as the basis for opening other branches.[3]
In July 2000, Aekyung Group was chosen to open a store in Incheon International Airport after Hotel Shilla gave up its subcontractor rights. The store was opened on March 29, 2001, as the 'AK Duty Free.' It was the first AK