In a bidding to select casino resort operators, a total of 34 bidders have submitted their applications, including Lotte Group, Kolon Group, Grand Leisure Korea, the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives, and the Korea Water Resources Corp.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism said on July 3 that it closed requests for concept applications by June 30 for two additional casino resort operators. Of these, nine are domestic companies.
According to the concept papers, Kolon Group will create a resort complex that includes a foreigners-only casino within the compound of La vie est belle Country Club in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province. Lotte Group, meanwhile, will push for building a casino resort in Busan's North Port in partnership with Malaysia's Genting Group at the cost of 1 trillion won.
Grand Leisure Group, a subsidiary of the Korea Tourism Organization, will invest 1.8 trillion won to build a resort in Yeongjong Island near Incheon International Airport. The National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives announced that it would establish a resort in the wholesale fish market in southwestern Seoul with the theme of ocean.
The Korea Water Resources Corp. revealed its plan to build an entertainment resort in a 4.26-million-square-meter site in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, with a Universal Studios theme park, a casino, a golf club, a water park, a premium outlet, a hotel, and a convention center at the cost of 5 trillion won.
