Paradise Co Ltd, a foreigner-only casino operator in South Korea, is interested in acquiring the West Wing of the Grand Hyatt Incheon hotel, near the country’s capital, Seoul. The property is adjacent to the Paradise City casino resort, also in Incheon, a joint venture between Paradise Co and Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings Inc.
The interest in acquiring the West Wing property was confirmed to GGRAsia by a representative of Paradise Co.
Grand Hyatt Incheon, run by KAL Hotel Network Ltd, is located near the Incheon International Airport, the country’s main air hub.
The hotel opened its current East Wing as Hyatt Regency Incheon in 2003. It added the 500-room West Wing in 2014, with the overall property being renamed as Grand Hyatt Incheon.
According to local news outlets, KAL Hotel Network – part of the group that controls airline Korean Air – may sell the West Wing of the Grand Hyatt Incheon to raise funds, with reports suggesting that the company considers it an asset that is financially underperforming.
In recent years, KAL Hotel Network has been disposing of several assets, including the Jeju KAL Hotel. The latter was home to MegaLuck casino, a foreigner-only gaming venue – the gaming operation was eventually relocated to the Jeju Shilla Hotel. Last year, Hong Kong-listed New Silkroad Culturaltainment Ltd sold its controlling interest in MegaLuck to a private investor.
South Korean brokerage Hana Financial Investment Co Ltd said in a note in August that the Paradise City casino resort currently has 711 rooms, with an estimated 200 or so allocated to support casino operations.
According to the brokerage, the acquisition of the West Wing of the Grand Hyatt Incheon could help channel more room inventory into supporting casino operations; however, the institution noted that, should the deal proceed, the additional rooms would likely only become available in the second half of 2026, following renovation.
Paradise Co also runs gaming at Walkerhill, Seoul, as well as in the southern port city of Busan, and at a venue on the semi-autonomous holiday island of Jeju.
Paradise Co reported net income of KRW20.88 billion (US$15.0 million currently) for the three months to June 30, a 43.5-percent increase from a year earlier. Revenue for the second quarter of 2025 rose by 4.1 percent year-on-year, to KRW284.46 billion, according to a filing last month to the Korea Exchange.
In mid-March Paradise Co announced a plan to invest KRW575.0 billion to build a new hotel in eastern Seoul’s Jangchung neighbourhood. The aim is for the new hotel to open in 2028.
The casino firm also said it plans to increase its revenue “by more than 10 percent” annually through to 2027. That is part of its “plan to increase corporate value” for investors – also referred to by Paradise Co as its “Value Up” plan, according to a statement issued by the casino group earlier this year.
