Input 2021.02.19 11:54
According to the statistics of the Korea Casino Tourism Association on the 19th, the sales of 16 foreigner-only casinos last year amounted to 5954 billion won, down 59% from the previous year. During this period, the number of visitors decreased by 64%.
That divides more than half of the profits each year GKL(114090)(Grand Korea Leisure) also posted an operating loss of 88.8 billion won last year. Which operates Incheon Paradise City Casino, the largest in Korea. Paradise (034230)It also turned to the deficit last year.
The situation in the casino industry in Jeju Island, where international flights are suspended, is also serious. Sales declined by nearly 90%, and operating profit was tentatively collected as a 64% decrease to 69 billion won. The landing casino in Jeju Shinhwa World, the largest in Jeju Island, saw its sales in 2020 decline 89% from the previous year.
The size of the facility is small and the amount of loss is relatively insignificant as the fixed cost is low because it is located in a hotel, but it is the same that it suffers from difficulties due to paid and unpaid vacations and shortened sales. The scale of employment of casinos in Jeju Island is about 1600.
One Jeju-do casino official said, “Eight out of the 16 casinos nationwide are in Jeju, but half of them are in a situation that cannot be operated normally.” , Because all of these business activities were stopped due to Corona 19,” he explained.
◇ Even though I contributed to the tourism industry, I couldn’t get any support… The industry “requires to introduce an open online casino”
The casino industry is demanding economic support measures and countermeasures from the government. Considering the situation in which the government has relieved the duty-free industry through a’third party overseas return system’ or domestic sales, and supported the restructuring of the aviation industry, it is not suitable for policy equity.
An official in the casino industry said, “The industry is prevalent, but domestic casinos correspond to the tourism industry that earns foreign currency.”
Domestic casinos also pay semi-taxes such as the Tourism Promotion Development Fund and individual consumption tax imposed on consumers who purchase luxury goods. The’departure payment’ and’casino payment’ paid when going abroad by air or ship provides the financial resources for the Tourism Promotion Development Fund, of which 20-30% is collected from casinos. About 10% of sales from the previous year were charged as casino payments. As of 2019, the casino payments made by Kangwon Land and 16 foreign casinos to the government were about 300 billion won.
This fund will be reinvested in the domestic tourism industry. About 87% of the tourism budget of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (1.344.3 billion won) last year was covered by the tourism fund. Through the fund’s financing business, it is possible to borrow money for the operation of tourism businesses such as travel agencies, tourist restaurants, lodging facilities, amusement facilities, and facilities for new construction, extension, and purchase of hotels, etc., at low interest rates for a long time. However, the payment of development funds imposed on the casino industry last year was only deferred. As much as the casino industry contributes to the domestic tourism industry, this is the reason for complaints that they did not receive support in the Corona 19 situation.
◇ Experts “Social consensus must be formed through legal safety devices”
The need to foster the industry by converting to an open casino where both domestic and foreigners can enter, like overseas, is also constantly raised. This is because the number of visitors must be increased and the scale of the casino must be increased by linking with a complex resort equipped with various auxiliary facilities.
Success examples of open casinos include Macau, Las Vegas, and Singapore. These casinos have evolved closer to complex cultural spaces than gambling venues. As there is a large floating population, concerts, standing comedies, musicals, and magic shows are held at casinos and resorts, and such entertainment creates a virtuous cycle that attracts more tourists. In the Corona 19 situation, some opinions ask that online casinos be allowed temporarily.
However, among experts, there is an opinion that such a discussion in Korea is premature. It is pointed out that industrial policy should not be changed with special external variables such as Corona 19 due to the nature of the casino industry, which is recognized as a speculative industry.
Gwang-hoon Ryu, head of the management planning division of the Institute for Cultural Tourism Policy, said, “Casinos for foreigners in Korea are responsible for importing foreign currency into the oligopoly market, and Kangwon Land, a casino for Koreans, has a special characteristic that it is operated temporarily in order to support the local economy through an abandoned mine.” If you change the casino industry-related policy due to the temporary factor, Corona 19, you should also consider the possibility of confusion when the market normalizes in the future.”
General Manager Ryu added, “Considering the protection of youth, allowing casinos to operate online or introducing open casinos is a difficult problem to pursue without sufficient social public debate and institutional safety measures.”
“Online casinos have no precedent legalized in Korea, so social consensus and legal safeguards should be sufficiently established,” said Lee Choong-ki, professor of tourism at Kyunghee University’s Hotel and Tourism College. “The inflow of tourists to the region is reduced, so it may not be beneficial to the local economy.”
However, Professor Lee said, “The casino industry has paid a lot of tourism development promotion funds and earned foreign currency, but it has received little support from the fund.” “I think it’s fair to allocate.”