The only South Korean casino open to locals has a new CEO. In a Wednesday filing, Kangwon Land announced that Choi Cheol Kyoo has resigned, to be replaced by Nam Hun Gyu.
Since 2024, Nam has served as Kangwon Land’s vice president of management support. He is also an executive board director, with a current term that ends in June. Nam “will serve as an acting CEO until the new CEO takes office”, Kangwon Land informed the Korea Exchange. The appointment is effective from Thursday 5 March.
Prior to joining Kangwon Land, Nam was director of the Regulatory Reform and Legal Affairs Department of South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Choi also became CEO on an interim basis, replacing former CEO Lee Sam-geol, who stepped down in December 2023.
Ongoing ‘leadership vacuum’ at Kangwon Land
South Korean news magazine Sisa Week reports that the years-long “leadership vacuum” at Kangwon Land is causing frustration among residents of surrounding Gangwon Province, a mountainous former coal-mining region that is banking on the resort to boost local tourism.
An executive search committee first convened in August 2024. But the process stalled when former president Yoon Suk Yeol briefly declared martial law, an attempt to quash political opposition. The siege lasted just six hours; Yoon was later impeached, arrested and sentenced to life in prison for insurrection.
The Lee Jae-myung administration is now in charge of leadership changes at government-controlled corporations like Kangwon Land. The corporation is partly owned by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources. Gangwon Province and the South Korean National Pension Service are minority shareholders. The provincial Joint Committee for Regional Revitalisation has implored the government to “provide a roadmap for the appointment … as soon as possible”.
Without a deadline, it added, “the future of Kangwon Land and the abandoned mine area is becoming unpredictable. While we have been somewhat understanding of the delays due to the political turmoil … we are facing a situation where residents’ anxiety will turn into anger if we wait any longer”.
K-HIT: The Vegas of South Korea?
Kangwon Land is now pursuing a major capital investment project to lift the resort from regional getaway to global destination. Known as K-HIT, the KRW2.5 trillion (US$1.9 billion) expansion will increase the gaming floor by 40%, grow the table inventory from 200 to 250, and add 250 new slot machines, for a total of 1,610. Significantly, it will also raise the betting limits for foreign players from KRW300,000 to KRW300 million – a thousand-fold increase.
In 2024, Choi told the Korea Times that, despite its remote location, Kangwon Land has the potential to become the Las Vegas of South Korea. “Just as Las Vegas transformed from a desert mining town into a global entertainment hub, Kangwon Land has the potential to transform from a former coal mining region,” he said. “Distance is no longer a barrier in today’s world and we aim to create a world-class destination here.”
K-HIT will also add a hotel, a larger performance venue, an expanded retail corridor and cultural and wellness facilities. Ultimately, the operator expects the addition to boost foreign tourism and increase non-gaming revenue from 13% to 30% by 2032.
But that future remains a distant hope. Though Kangwon Land posted revenue of KRW1.48 trillion for 2025, up 3.5% over 2024, operating income dropped to KRW 235.18 billion, and net income fell to KRW 316.52 billion, for an overall decline of 30.7%.
Marjorie Preston
Marjorie began her gaming career in 2007 and has focused on Asian gaming markets since 2020. Outside of work, she writes about travel and film and plays the drums.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/casino/integrated-resorts/kangwon-land-ceo-choi-cheol-kyoo-resigns-south-korean-operator-appoints-nam-hun-gyu/
