E-Mart, Korea’s No. 1 discount store chain, said Monday that it will invest about 400 billion won ($370 million) to establish a logistics complex in Gyeonggi Province by 2014.

The complex, located at a 500,000 square meter site in Anseong, 77 kilometers south of Seoul, will become the nation’s largest facility of its kind, the retailer said.

Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-soo and Chung Yong-jin, vice chairman of Shinsegae Group, signed Monday a memorandum of understanding to cooperate for the project.

E-Mart expected that if the complex is completed as planned by March 2014, about 1,000 new jobs and annual sales of 20 billion won will be generated.

“The creation of the logistics complex will accelerate the economy of the southern area of Gyeonggi Province, including Anseong, and strengthen the company value of E-Mart,” said an E-Mart official.

In the neighboring area of the planned logistics complex, Shinsegae is also considering building a multiplex shopping mall on a 201,000 square meter site that will offer a variety of services ranging from entertainment to sports and leisure activities.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)