South Korean foreigner-only casino operator Paradise Co Ltd has appointed Korean actor Kim Soo-huyn (pictured) as its new brand ambassador.
Mr Kim will be particularly involved in the promotion of the under construction Paradise City casino resort, scheduled to open in the first half of next year, the firm stated.
An advertisement campaign featuring Mr Kim was launched on Monday. The company did not disclose how much it paid the South Korean actor.
Paradise City, in Incheon, is a joint venture project between Paradise Co and Japanese pachinko operator Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. The scheme, with a total area of 330,000 square metres (3.55 million sq feet), is presented in its official website as having a price ticket of KRW1.3 trillion (US$1.05 billion) and featuring a foreigner-only casino with 160 live table games, 378 electronic table games and 350 slot machines.
Mr Kim, a well-known actor in South Korea, is also popular in Japan and China, two feeder markets for Paradise Co’s casinos.
The casino operator is also investing around KRW8 billion in an upcoming action-thriller movie starring Mr Kim, the Korea Herald newspaper reported. Some scenes of the film will be shot at Paradise City.
Previous Paradise Co brand ambassadors include Irish actor Pierce Brosnan, American actor Robert De Niro and Portuguese football manager José Mourinho.
Casino sales at the properties operated by Paradise Co fell 7.7 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2016, the firm said earlier this month.
Korean casinos currently only permit foreigners to gamble, except at Kangwon Land, a difficult-to-access venue located 150 kilometres (93 miles) southeast of the capital Seoul, in Gangwon Province.
