The province has allowed Lotte Tour Development to bring its casino for foreigners to the Jeju Dream Tower from the Lotte Hotel Jeju.

The casino, five times larger than the hotel casino, will open next month.

Controversy will be inevitable as the police are still investigating possible corruption in regards to the opinion survey with regards to the casino.
Mike Laidman reports.

Report



The newly-opened Jeju Dream Tower features a casino for foreign customers on its second floor - set to open soon.
The gaming machines have been installed and employees are busy preparing for opening day.


The province has given Lotte Tour Development conditional approval to move its casino to the Jeju Dream Tower from Lotte Hotel Jeju and to expand it in size.

The relocated LT Casino is set to open next month.

The casino footprint has grown in size five times, from 1,100 square meters to 5,300 square meters.
The number of gaming machines is up tenfold, from 27 to 330.


With a new, huge casino coming to the centre of Jeju, the province is confident it will help to boost the local economy.


In return for being awarded permission to open, the casino must follow plans outlined by Lotte Tour Development to contribute to the local community, and also adhere to recommendations made by the Jeju Provincial Council.
Among the recommendations, the casino must hire locals for over 80 percent of its total workforce.
However, whether the casino keeps these promises remains to be seen.


The province’s approval cannot be revoked even if conditions are not fulfilled, and penalties are not included in the approval.

Controversy over the province granting conditional permission has grown, as evidence of a tie between the province and casino has been revealed during ongoing inspections. This is in addition to a police investigation over possible corruption pertaining to the province’s opinion research over the gigantic casino. As in many such arrangements, it is reasonable to be skeptical, but no real conclusions can be made until the casino is fully up and running.

Mike Laidman, KCTV