Kangwon Land Acting CEO Warns: Osaka Resorts Could Drain Foreign Currency; Announces 3 Trillion Won K‑HIT Plan
Creatrip Team
4 months ago
Kangwon Land, operator of Korea’s only casino in the former mining region, unveiled a 3 trillion won "K‑HIT (High1 Integrated Tourism)" master plan to transform the area into a Korean‑style wellness‑and‑entertainment resort. Acting CEO Choi Cheol‑gyu warned that the opening of a massive integrated resort (IR) in Osaka — reachable within an hour by flight and 30 minutes from the airport by train — poses a real threat of diverting Korean casino visitors and foreign exchange outflows. Kangwon Land emphasizes its strengths in mountain sports, four‑season leisure, clean nature and coal‑mining cultural heritage (탄광 문화유산) to build a differentiated “well‑potainment” (wellness + entertainment) complex combining ski, golf, waterpark and nature‑based recovery programs. The company framed the master plan as a starting point for the region’s “next 100 years,” and has asked the government to designate a Korean IR as a national strategic industry to ease cross‑ministry coordination and regulatory support.
