Incheon Airport was the world’s third busiest international airport in 2024 (source: ACI World).

Lotte Duty Free and Hyundai Duty Free are set to take on the DF1 and DF2 concessions at Incheon International Airport (ICN) suspended by Hotel Shilla last September (DF1), and Shinsegae, which is soon to exit DF2 on 27 April. Both companies made their decisions due to rent disputes with ICN’s operator, Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC).

The Korea Customs Service (KCS) made an official announcement about the new awards on 26 February after a Patent Review Committee meeting. Yonhap, South Korea’s national news agency, which serves as the country’s official wire service, also announced the awards that day, and Lotte DF has confirmed its win to TRBusiness.

Lotte DF’s DF1 space covers 4,094sq m and 15 stores focused on beauty, liquor, and tobacco. According to a company spokesperson, “the concession will generate an annual increase in sales of over KRW600 billion”, which is about $405m at today’s FX rate. For Lotte, the win marks a return to ICN approximately three years after the closure of its liquor and tobacco concession in Terminal 2.

Hyundai DF, part of Hyundai Department Store Group, has yet to respond to enquiries from TRBusiness, but according to Yonhap, the retailer expected annual sales of about KRW1.1 trillion/$741m from the concession.

Seven-year concessions mark a reset

Both the DF1 and DF2 concession periods are approximately seven years until mid-2033, with the possibility of a contract renewal for up to a further 10 years.

Lotte DF said: “Going forward, we will conduct a thorough handover in accordance with IIAC’s guidelines to minimise passenger inconvenience. After opening, we plan to implement a sequential renewal process.”

The retailer plans to introduce a diverse range of brands and products tailored to current demands from domestic and international travellers, with more experiential digital elements to make the retail offer more appealing.

ACI ranked ICN as the third busiest airport in the world for international passenger numbers in 2024. In recent years, ICN has made a reasonable post-Covid recovery in traffic, hitting a new record last year. IIAC’s statistics show 74.07 million passengers in 2025, 71.2 million in 2024, and 56.1 million in 2023. In pre-pandemic 2019, traffic hit 71.2 million.

READ MORE: Lotte DF and Hyundai DF bidding for DF1 and DF2 zones at ICN

READ MORE: Shinsegae DF sees Q3 rebound amid Incheon pull-out