S. Korea Kangwon Land closed until Wed, to lose US$9mln

Feb 24, 2020 Newsdesk Coronavirus Crisis, Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  

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Kangwon Land, the only casino resort in South Korea where the country’s nationals are allowed to gamble, has temporarily closed doors until 6am Wednesday (February 26). The announcement was made by South Korea-based operator Kangwon Land Inc in a Monday filing to the Korea Exchange.

The filing stated that the temporary closure had started at noon Sunday (February 23) and was related to an outbreak of the novel coronavirus Covid-19 in that country.

Kangwon Land Inc’s announcement came after South Korea’s government put on Sunday the country’s response to Covid-19 on its highest alert level – “Red” – as the number of confirmed cases of the disease in the country rose to more than 600.

Kangwon Land Inc said it expected to record losses of about KRW11 billion (US$9.0 million) during the closure period. The estimate was based on Kangwon Land’s daily casino revenue in full-year 2019, it added.

Kangwon Land Inc’s full-2019 net profit rose by 12.7 percent in year-on-year terms, supported by stronger sales and lower costs, the firm said earlier this month. Such profit in the 12 months to December 31 was KRW335.06 billion compared with nearly KRW297.24 billion in 2018, according to an earnings filing.

South Korea’s nationals are only allowed to gamble at Kangwon Land casino resort (pictured in a file photo) in an upland area of Kangwon province – 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the country’s capital Seoul. The company is – as the only authorised provider of casino gaming to South Korean nationals – subject to significant oversight from the country’s government.

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