A local politician representing the area where the part-built foreigner-casino project RFKR Resort is located, in Incheon, South Korea, has told GGRAsia that the site should not be left to languish, as it was a “prime” element in the promotion of Yeongjong Island as a casino cluster.
Shin Sung Young (pictured in a file photo), a member of Incheon Metropolitan Council, said the promoter of the RFKR Resort, called R&F Korea (RFKR) – a firm linked to Hong Kong-listed Chinese developer Guangzhou R&F Properties Co Ltd – needed more active engagement from South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Incheon Metropolitan Council.
But he added it would be “meaningless for R&F Korea to keep the development site,” just for the sake of “holding the development permit”.
Mr Shin remarked that the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority (IFEZA), the public body overseeing the site, “had been seeking another investor, as the site development permit has been extended four times,” but efforts to restart the scheme had so far been “unsuccessful”.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism clarified to GGRAsia that R&F Korea currently holds a development licence, but could only apply for a gaming licence conditional on there being progress at the site.
GGRAsia approached R&F Korea, seeking a response on Mr Shin’s comments, but the firm declined to give one.
In late April, the South Korean government had confirmed to GGRAsia that R&F Korea must restart building work within three months, or the authorities might reconsider the latest 12-month extension on the first-phase deadline.
The project, within the Incheon Free Economic Zone, is near to several other resorts with foreigner-only casinos.
Paradise City, a venture between South Korean casino group Paradise Co Ltd and a unit of Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings Inc, had a first-phase opening in 2017. Inspire Entertainment Resort, being developed at Incheon by United States-based Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment Inc, is due to open some of its non-gaming facilities by the end of this year, according to company statements.
Mr Shin told GGRAsia that a cluster of casino resorts featuring other entertainment, was important for bringing in tourist money.
A casino resort cluster could showcase to foreign visitors – including those arriving from the nearby Incheon International Airport – the country’s popular culture, such as K-pop.
