Kangwon Land Confirmed Challenges of Integrated Resort Despite Operating Profit Rebound Last Year...

2.856 Billion KRW, a 31.3% Increase Year-on-Year
Half the Level Compared to Pre-Corona
Challenge of Concurrent Rise in Non-Casino Sectors like Accommodation and Leisure Beyond Casinos

Kangwon Land, the only casino in Korea operated for domestic residents, has succeeded in improving its performance last year despite the impact of COVID-19. However, its sales and operating profit still fall far short of the levels before the pandemic. With the recovery of overseas travel leading to a decline in domestic demand and large-scale investments in the tourism industry being made in nearby regions such as Japan and Southeast Asia, the company has reaffirmed the challenge of enhancing the competitiveness of not only the casino but the entire integrated resort.

Kangwon Land Headquarters

Kangwon Land announced on the 7th that its consolidated operating profit last year was tentatively estimated at 285.6 billion KRW, a 31.3% increase from the previous year. Sales rose 9.3% year-on-year to 1.3886 trillion KRW.

Specifically, casino sales increased by 96.1 billion KRW to 1.206 trillion KRW compared to the previous year, while non-casino segments such as hotels, resorts, ski resorts, and Water World saw sales rise by 21.8 billion KRW to 182.6 billion KRW during the same period. After recording operating losses of 431.6 billion KRW and 52.7 billion KRW in 2020 and 2021 respectively due to the outbreak of COVID-19, Kangwon Land returned to profitability with an operating profit of 217.6 billion KRW in 2022 and continued its upward trend for two consecutive years. Nevertheless, it still remains far from pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, operating profit was about twice as high as last year’s, at 501.2 billion KRW.

Kangwon Land explained, "Last year, non-casino sales slightly increased compared to 178.8 billion KRW recorded in 2019, and there were some achievements such as generating income from financial assets exceeding 2 trillion KRW entrusted to asset management companies, but it is still insufficient to fully recover the pre-COVID management situation."

In fact, the external environment surrounding Kangwon Land is also challenging. Advanced tourism countries such as Macau and Singapore are strengthening their integrated resort businesses including casinos, and Japan plans to complete a mega integrated resort worth 11 trillion KRW in key areas such as Osaka by 2030. This could lead to the outflow of domestic tourists, who are Kangwon Land’s main customer base.

Amid this sense of crisis, Kangwon Land launched the "Kangwon Land Integrated Resort Competitiveness Enhancement Special Committee (Special Committee)" last month, consisting of 31 members including tourism experts, local representatives, and employees. Chaired by Choi Cheol-gyu, Acting CEO of Kangwon Land, the committee is divided into three subcommittees?external policy, casino, and non-casino?with 10 members each, and plans to announce detailed competitiveness enhancement measures by the first half of this year.

By the end of next month, Kangwon Land plans to hold a public hearing and a forum focusing on the tasks derived from the regular meeting, and will compile opinions from related organizations and local residents to announce the "Kangwon Land Competitiveness Enhancement Tasks for Leap to a Global Integrated Resort."

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