The economic impact of the casino industry in South Korea

The casino business in Seoul is seen to grow by 4 .2 in the four year period from 2002 to 2005 and as competition opens up it is anticipated to grow by over 16 .8 (Seoul Casino , 2007 . The Kangwon Land casino has always been in the public eye for its adverse impact on locals . In 2005 , each gambler lost Won2 .5 million though only 10 percent of the visitors to the casino were identified as addicts While initially the Kangwon facility invited a lot of skepticism as being too far from the

City , gradually it has picked up business and is increasingly seen as a lucrative investment opportunity by many foreign entities . From a weak opening in 2000 , this casino has seen a jump in revenue each year and in 2003 revenue growth topped 26 percent . The inveterate gambling instinct in Korean culture has perhaps something to do with this apart from the lack of other outlets for similar entertainment

Assessment and Comments

The main objections to ventures as casinos comes not from the point of view of economy but social and financial crime particularly as institutions of corruption for foreign entities who have no legal liability . A study by Lee and Kwon (1997 ) indicates that the Casino industry in South Korea has had a positive economic impact . The authors have compared a number of varied criteria in their research and used an input-output model to arrive at the conclusion . Apart from the direct economic impact of boosting income , the indirect influence of casinos in generating jobs and revenues from subsidiary spending by visitors to casinos is also said to be significant . This has been supported by studies carried out in many South East Asian countries as Singapore (Lee , 2005 . South Korea also has indicated positive impact of such...