Seven Jeju Casinos to Undergo Special Inspection During China's National Day Holiday... Access Control and CCTV Under Scrutiny

[Financial News, Jeju | Reporter Jeong Yong-bok] Jeju will conduct a special guidance and inspection campaign at seven operating casinos during China's National Day holiday.
According to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on Oct. 1, special guidance and inspections will be carried out at casinos across the province from that day through Oct. 7.
China's official National Day holiday also runs from Oct. 1 to 7 this year. Jeju Special Self-Governing Province decided to strengthen on-site management and oversight in anticipation of a possible increase in Chinese tourists, other foreign visitors, and casino patrons during the period.
The inspection covers seven of the eight casinos in Jeju, excluding one that is closed. Four are in Jeju City and three are in Seogwipo City.
Jeju's casinos operate exclusively for foreign nationals. As the foreign tourist market recovers, the importance of managing casino patrons and preventing safety incidents and crime inside and around casino premises is also growing. Jeju Special Self-Governing Province will form inspection teams of two public officials each and send them to the venues.
The inspection will focus on compliance with casino operating rules and access control. Inspectors will also review closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage.
Casino CCTV systems cover a broader range of activity than security cameras at ordinary facilities. The relevant operating rules require casinos to record footage of entry into and exit from casino premises, currency exchange, re-exchange and cashiering, game operations, and payment calculations. The system is designed to allow the movement of money and chips inside casinos, as well as patrons' entry and exit, to be reviewed afterward.
Jeju Special Self-Governing Province plans to respond promptly on-site if reports of inconvenience or complaints from customers are received during the special inspection period.
The special inspection also comes amid a series of crimes involving foreign nationals around Jeju casinos.

Last month, police arrested a Chinese man accused of luring a woman he met at a casino in Jeju City to a nearby house by offering to exchange currency, assaulting her, and taking valuables worth about 7 million won.
In April, two Chinese nationals allegedly approached a Chinese victim at a hotel casino in Jeju under the pretext of offering a currency exchange, stole casino chips worth about 36 million won, and fled. They were later arrested at Jeju International Airport.
As cases continue to emerge in which private currency exchange offers targeting casino patrons are used as a means of initiating criminal activity, there is a growing need to distinguish between legitimate casino exchange and cashiering procedures and illegal currency exchanges around casino premises.
The rapid recovery of the Chinese tourism market is another factor behind the strengthened casino oversight. About 1.86 million Chinese tourists visited Jeju from January through August this year, already surpassing the 1,588,107 who visited during all of last year. The figure also represents a sharp increase from the same period last year.
Chinese visitors account for the largest share of Jeju's foreign tourist market. As a result, major holidays such as China's National Day holiday increase the need for on-site management at businesses that attract large numbers of foreign tourists, including hotels, duty-free shops, and casinos.
Separately from the special inspection, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province operates regular on-site management and inspection teams every month to inspect casinos during the day and at night, including on weekends.
This time, the province is taking a more focused approach than during regular inspections by revisiting access control and CCTV systems at all seven operating casinos during the period of concentrated demand associated with China's National Day holiday.
Hwang Gyeong-seon, director of the Tourism Exchange Bureau at Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, said, "We will strengthen management and oversight at casino venues during the National Day holiday. We will check compliance with operating rules and the status of access control, while responding promptly to prevent crimes involving foreign nationals and address visitor inconveniences."


[email protected] Jeong Yong-bok Reporter