South Korea casino could reduce service hours

South Korea casino Kangwon Land could reduce the operating hours after scandal for corruption.

South Korea.- The South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) has demanded casino Kangwon Land’s operators to reduce the hours that the facility is opened to the public. The controversial casino is the only gaming salon where locals are allowed to enter. The casino is involved in a case of corruption that was revealed last year.

According to September 2017’s official reports, South Korean based casino operator Kangwon Land has admitted that most of its workers who got their jobs between 2012 and 2013 did because of their connections with politicians and the former CEO of the company, Choi Heung-jip, revealing a case of corruption.

Choi Heung-jip led the state-run company from July 2011 to February 2014, and the employees from Kangwon Land claim that he was responsible for hiring 518 people during that period of time. Of those 518 new employees, 493 of them ended up with a position in the company because of influential people. Among the 95 percent of the corrupted employees, was a former intern of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, which at the time of the issue was the ruling party.

“Currently, Kangwon Land is closed between 6 am and 10 am local time,” JPMorgan noted in a memo issued this week. “The changes in opening hours should have some direct revenue impact up to 10 percent, if we simply assume Kangwon Land’s revenue is evenly split during operating hours, though it’s difficult to assess accurately at this point.”