Korea Racing Authority to Suspend All Employees Starting from the 1st... Entering Emergency Management Mode

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The Korea Racing Authority announced on the 2nd that it has entered an emergency management system by implementing a full staff leave starting from the 1st and temporarily suspending no-customer horse racing held at three racetracks in Seoul, Busan-Gyeongnam, and Jeju.

Previously, to prevent COVID-19, the Korea Racing Authority had suspended horse racing from February 23 and took preemptive measures such as interest-free loans for horse racing stakeholders' livelihood funds and rent exemptions for tenant businesses. Furthermore, from June 19, when social distancing level 1 was maintained, it resumed "no-customer horse racing" using its reserves to sustain the horse industry base.

However, due to the recent resurgence of COVID-19 and the application of strengthened government quarantine guidelines, the timing for customer admission has become uncertain, and the management situation has reached its limit, prompting the initiation of emergency management measures such as full staff leave and temporary suspension of no-customer horse racing. All employees will take leave three days a week, operating in a shift leave system to minimize work gaps.

As of the end of August this year, the Korea Racing Authority's sales loss is approximately 4 trillion won, and it is estimated to reach about 6.4 trillion won annually. This year's sales are expected to decrease by 87% compared to the previous year, and national and local taxes paid annually are also projected to decrease by about 1 trillion won.

In addition to the full staff leave and temporary suspension of no-customer horse racing, the Korea Racing Authority has taken priority measures such as reducing operating expenses by 35%, and plans to prepare additional self-help measures for management normalization through consultations with related organizations such as labor unions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.