South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy is considering using a government-affiliated company, Kangwon Land Inc, to pay off a KRW2.46-trillion (US$1.67-billion) debt of a ministry affiliate, the Korea Coal Corp. That is according to local news outlet Chosun Biz.
Kangwon Land Inc is operator of Kangwon Land (pictured), a resort with the country’s only casino allowed to serve locals.
Per Chosun Biz, the ministry thinks the debt could be settled by setting aside 10 percent of Kangwon Land Inc’s annual revenue over a period of 20 years. The casino firm’s current gaming licence runs until 2045.
The ministry said in response to the report, that the matter was “yet to be decided” and could only happen “after discussions”.
Kangwon Land Inc’s 2024 revenue was just under KRW1.43 trillion, according to a January 2025 filing to the Korea Exchange.
The Kangwon Land resort opened in 2000 at a former coal mining zone, as mandated by the “Special Act on the Assistance to the Development of Abandoned Mine Areas,” passed in 1995. Under the act, Kangwon Land Inc is expected to contribute up to 13 percent of its casino revenue to an Abandoned Mine Fund.
The Kangwon Land resort is located in Gangwon Province’s Jeongseon County, a highland area three hours east of the capital Seoul.
Korea Coal closed its last mining operation in the country – at Samcheok mine, near the Kangwon Land site – in June 2025, per a press release it issued at the time. The Chosun Ilbo news outlet reported shortly before the final mine closure, that the country’s government was to liquidate state-owned Korea Coal, and pay off its debt.
According to media, subsequent to the public airing of the idea about using Kangwon Land Inc revenues for that purpose, a Jeongseon community group issued a statement opposing such a move.
The community group reportedly said: “The Special Act contains no provisions allowing for such debt payment”.
The statement added that – in preparation for the MGM Osaka casino resort opening in neighbouring Japan in 2030 – the issue of relaxing casino-operations rules for the Kangwon Land resort, should take precedence.
Kangwon Land Inc has been lobbying for some government easing of its business conditions, amid an effort to make the casino venture internationally-competitive via its reinvestment programme K-HIT 1.0.
