Hyung-suk Chah (채형석) began construction of the first department store on March 1991 in Guro District, Seoul.[2] The store opened on September 10, 1993 as the Aekyung Department Store. The store had five basement floors and seven aboveground floors, with a total cost of 120 billion won (120 million US dollars). The success of the Guro store was allegedly used as the basis for opening other branches. The Wonju branch was opened on April 6, 2012, with 5 basement stories and 7 above ground stories, though the company website claims it was opened on March 6.