GGRAsia – South Korea streamlines Chinese marketing team and Japan office

South Korea’s economy and finance ministry said public-owned Grand Korea Leisure (GKL), which operates foreigner-only casinos in South Korea, will scale back the size of its Chinese marketing team, cutting it by a third. Number of liaison offices in Japan. There it runs 4 instead of 6 like before.

The statement did not mention the number of Chinese marketing staff used by Grand Korea Leisure or how many will remain.

Grand Korea Leisure is a subsidiary of the Korea Tourism Organization, which belongs to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

In its announcement, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said that 40 public enterprises involved in foreign business, including Grand Korea Leisure, will be subject to some operational streamlining for “efficiency” reasons due to “lack of business and demand.” said. service.

In the case of Grand Korea Leisure, the announcement specifically referred to the “long-term downturn in the Greater China market.”

Even before the pandemic, China was cracking down on “cross-border gambling” by its citizens.

In a statement to GGRAsia, Grand Korea Leisure said the long-term disruption to China’s outbound tourism due to the Covid-19 pandemic was a factor in reducing its marketing team in China.

The company said it needs to assess how China’s outbound travel situation has developed before determining the extent of its marketing cuts in China.

Regarding Japan, Grand Korea Leisure told GGRAsia that it will close its Hiroshima and Sapporo offices from March 2022 and “will not reopen.” In contrast, the company added that it has expanded its activities in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka since October this year.

Grand Korea Leisure Return to profitability in Q3the continued growth seen in the company’s casino net sales and gambling visitors.

The company operates three Seven Luck branded casinos exclusively for foreigners. There are two in the capital Seoul, including Gangnam (pictured), and one in the southeastern port city of Busan.

The group plans to close the Gangbuk Seoul venue at the Millennium Hilton Hotel on December 30 and transfer its gaming operations to Seoul Dragon City. From December 31st.