Casino employees at Jeju Island, the a semi-autonomous region off the coast of South Korea, are bracing for possible lay off amid the novel COVID-19 pandemic

Businesses in South Korea have received employment assistance from the government in support for the on–going coronavirus pandemic, however, casinos are excluded from such support putting some employees at risk for lay-off. 

Citing the news from Asia Gaming Brief, Jeju Island Tourism Association recorded a decrease of foreign tourist visitors by 98.5% for the second quarter, accounting to only 6,246 tourist arrivals for the entire three months. 

The province has eight casinos but only four of them are currently operating with one casino ending its financial support employees furloughed in July. Meanwhile, at least three more operators may follow the same practice by October. 

Per the article, an industry expert was quoted saying “There are 2200-2300 casino workers in the province, and restructuring is inevitable if it goes on like this. We need some government support measures.” 

In response, an official of the Ministry of Employment and Labor said “We understand the difficult reality faced by the casino industry, but we judged that the situation for the travel industry and for duty-free shops is even more dire, and for that reason the casino industry has not been our priority for support measures.” 

Jeju Island is a semi-autonomous region off the coast of South Korea, popular destination for tourists pre-pandemic time. Last April, it was reported that Jeju Dream Tower, a new resort with casino for foreign nationals only, will launch the project this year. The construction for the project started in May 2016, and will be the highest building in Jeju Island with 38 floors. 

SiGMA Americas:

Following the successful launch of SiGMA Europe (Malta) and SiGMA Asia (Manila), we’re now launching the inaugural SiGMA AMERICAS, covering all three major timezones. The inaugural edition is set for September 22-24, 2020 with a virtual summit focusing on two themes: SiGMA AMERICAS for the Gaming industry and AMERICAS for the Emerging Tech industry. We wanted to provide fresh content, to help you navigate through these turbulent times. If you’re exploring Americas as a new frontier or wondering which tech solutions to embrace, we’ve got you covered: tune in on September 22-24, 2020.