Three of the buildings that make up the Lotte World Tower & Lotte World Mall opened to the public on Sept. 6 for a “preopening” ― what the Seoul Metropolitan Government described as a chance for the people to make up their minds on whether the mega mall should be allowed to open ahead of the completion of the 555-meter-tall Lotte World Tower which is still under construction.

While the high-end department store Avenuel, entertainment complex and shopping mall are open for public viewing, the shelves remain empty during the 10-day “preopening” period. Visitors who reserved their spots online are given a grand tour of the buildings, courtesy of Lotte, which appears to be going out of its way to take advantage of the opportunity to showcase its latest project. At the end of the tour, which includes a 30-minute publicity video and a fire drill, the visitors are asked to fill out a survey. The survey only takes a few minutes to complete and it is doubtful that the casual visitors take it too seriously.

Yet, the survey is the public input that the city government is seeking in making the final decision on whether to allow the completed buildings of the Lotte World Tower & Lotte World Mall to open for business.

In delaying the final decision pending public approval, the city government is simply passing the buck to the public. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on Sept. 3 that Lotte Group had met all the requirements to open after the modifications it ordered the previous month were judged to have been met. However, since there was much concern among the public about the buildings’ safety, the city said it would allow the people to make up their own minds on that issue.

Thus came about the unprecedented “preopening.”

Seoul Metropolitan City has concocted an elaborate dance to shirk responsibility. What is the city going to do if the majority of survey respondents answer negatively about the opening of the mall buildings? Is the city going to allow a simplistic survey of visitors to overturn a conclusion reached by it and a panel of experts following three months of inspections and deliberations?

Whether to allow the completed mall buildings to open or not should have been a simple decision for the Seoul Metropolitan Government based on the rules and regulations in place. If the buildings met all the criteria, they should have been allowed to open. Is the Seoul Metropolitan Government going to rely on public opinion each time it is required to make a controversial decision?

Meanwhile, the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s inability, or unwillingness, to reach a decision on the Lotte World Tower & Lotte World Mall opening is hurting not only Lotte Group, which claims it is losing 90 billion won in sales each month it remains closed, but thousands of suppliers, vendors and workers as well.