[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dong-hyun] A green light has been given to the relocation of the foreigner-only casino at Jeju Dream Tower Complex Resort, which Lotte Tour Development is preparing to open.
According to Jeju Province and Lotte Tour Development on the 14th, the Jeju Province Casino Industry Impact Assessment Committee held the day before judged Lotte Tour Development's casino relocation application as suitable. The casino industry impact assessment was conducted for the first time in Korea following the ordinance amendment last December, which requires an assessment when the casino location is expanded or relocated to more than twice its original size.
Lotte Tour Development submitted a casino industry impact assessment report to Jeju Province on the 28th of last month to relocate and expand the casino currently operated at Lotte Hotel Jeju in Jungmun Tourism Complex, Seogwipo City, from 1,176㎡ to 5,367㎡ at Dream Tower.
Among the 15 committee members who attended the review, 14 judged the application as suitable (800 points or above), and one judged it as conditionally suitable (between 600 and 800 points). The overall average score of the committee was above 800 points. The evaluation consisted of 18 items in three categories: community impact (500 points), community contribution (300 points), and public opinion gathering (200 points), with a total possible score of 1,000 points.
A Lotte Tour Development official said, “The committee members seem to have given high scores considering the economic effects that Jeju Dream Tower Complex Resort will bring, such as job creation and attracting foreign tourists, amid the current economic downturn in the region.”
In the assessment report, Lotte Tour Development stated that it would contribute to revitalizing the local economy by creating 3,100 new jobs, providing an annual average of 53.7 billion KRW to the Jeju Tourism Promotion Fund over the next five years, attracting 1.4 million foreign tourists annually, and donating 12 billion KRW to the Jeju Development Fund for regional coexistence.
Jeju Province will decide whether to grant permission based on this assessment result, after comprehensively reviewing opinions from the Provincial Council and the Casino Business Supervisory Committee when Lotte Tour Development submits the casino relocation permit application.
The Jeju Dream Tower Complex Resort is currently 99.9% complete. Lotte Tour Development plans to obtain the completion permit as early as this month and then submit the casino relocation permit application once the hotel rating is determined.
The Jeju Dream Tower Complex Resort stands 38 floors and 169 meters tall, about twice the height of the tallest building in Jeju, Lotte City Hotel (89 meters). Its total floor area is 303,737㎡, 1.8 times larger than the Yeouido 63 Building, making it the largest in Jeju Province.
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