Jeju Shinhwa World in South Korea is waiting for the Shinhwa Resort to be completed and it looks like operators will have to wait a little more. The casino complex located on Jeju Island expected the hotel to possibly be ready this year, but Landing International, the promoter of the complex, has said that it won’t be able to complete the project until 2019.
Landing shared the news with media outlet GGRAsia, adding that the new hotel is still working on the acquisition of government permits that will allow it to be occupied. The project is part of Landing’s larger aspirations to introduce non-gaming elements to the Jeju resorts in a number of different stages.
According to the Landing representative, who wished to remain anonymous, “We have obtained the temporary occupation permit for one building of the Shinhwa Resort hotel. It is expected that permits for the remaining two buildings of Shinhwa Resort hotel will be issued in the first half of 2019.”
The individual added that the permits would be issued “after the Jeju government completes re-examination of the environmental impact of major development projects in Jeju.” He further stated, “We will wait until all the three buildings [of Shinhwa Resort hotel] get permits, and then open in one go.”
The hotel is designed to be an attraction for families, not gamblers. It is expected to have 533 keys and would provide “easy access” to both a water park and a theme park at the complex. The water park, an outdoor entertainment area, opened this past August.
Once the hotel is opened, there will be around 2,000 rooms, according to an interim report filed by Landing this past September. At some point in 2020, the company hopes to also include a Four Seasons Resort and Spa that will add 200 rooms, as well as theme park, Lionsgate Movie World.
Landing is still dealing with a massive headache that began this past August. The company’s chairman, Yang Zhihui, suddenly disappeared and was subsequently found to have been arrested on bribery charges in Cambodia. However, he has been missing since then. He’s not alone, however. According to Bloomberg, “At least three chairmen have gone missing from Hong Kong-listed Chinese firms this year, including Yang Zhihui from casino operator Landing International Development Ltd. and Wang Fucai from Real Nutriceutical Group Ltd.”
