Jeju vetting for casino clients abusing overseas residency

Jan 23, 2019 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  

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The authorities on South Korea’s Jeju Island (pictured) will conduct special monitoring on its eight foreigner-only casinos to make sure locals are not abusing the entry rules, reports Korea Bizwire.

There is concern that some South Korean nationals might be improperly claiming to be overseas passport holders or to have permanent residency in a foreign country – a status that would allow them to be treated as “foreigners” for the purpose of casino access. South Korea has several authorised casinos, but only one – Kangwon Land on the mainland – is open to domestic players.

The Jeju monitoring will be from January 31 to February 24, said the media outlet. The period coincides with lunar-new year celebrations in East Asia.

According to the news outlet, South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism asked local administrative authorities to take special measures after a South Korean with migrant status initially granted by an outside jurisdiction but subsequently suspended, was caught entering a foreigner-only casino on August 9 last year.

Korea Bizwire said new national legislation covering South Korean casinos requires that an identification card – either a foreign passport or an identity document for a person originally from South Korea who is now resident abroad and documentation that confirms migrant status – must be provided before a person can enter a casino in the country.

Prior to that, presenting documentation on migrant status was enough for South Korean migrants to enter one of South Korea’s foreigner-only casinos.

GGRAsia emailed the Jeju legislator for more information about the measure, but had not received a reply by the time this story went online.

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