Aju Business Daily

The Lotte World Tower, a new 123-story shopping and living tower complex, will hold a vertical international marathon race for the first time in South Korea to mark a grand opening ceremony next month as a new high-rise landmark in South Korea.

Lotte said it would hold the race to scale 2,917 steps in the 555-meter-tall tower in southern Seoul. Lotte invites some 620 professional and amateur runners who will compete for prize money as well as 260 other individuals and five teams for "experimental" charity running.

This is an exhibition race of the Vertical World Circuit (VWC) hosted by the International Skyrunning Federation (ISF). The VWC calendar features ten regular races this year.

Lotte has built the 123-story tower for four trillion won (3.47 billion US dollars) as a high-rise landmark representing South Korea's economic prosperity. Along with premium services, Lotte boasts of safety and modern design, claiming the tower can withstand a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and strong typhoons.

Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com