China has urged South Korea to tighten oversight of casino operators and stop marketing directed at Chinese tourists.
The intervention follows growing expectations that recovering Chinese visitor numbers could support revenue across South Korea’s 17 foreigner-only casinos.
Tang Liang, counsellor for consular affairs at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul, raised the concerns in a letter to The Korea Times. The embassy later published its position through its official WeChat account.
Tang said: “It is highly inappropriate for Korean casinos to conduct targeted marketing and recruitment specifically towards foreign nationals, especially Chinese people.”
The embassy said China maintains a zero-tolerance approach towards gambling and prohibits its citizens from gambling overseas. It also warned operators against organising or soliciting Chinese nationals to gamble outside the country.
China amended Article 303 of its Criminal Law in 2020 to introduce penalties for organising Chinese citizens to participate in overseas gambling where the sums involved are substantial or other serious circumstances apply.
Tang said: “We hope that the Korean side will earnestly fulfil its regulatory responsibilities over tourism institutions, strictly standardise casino operations and put an end to gambling recruitment targeting Chinese tourists.”
South Korea’s foreigner-only casinos have benefited from recovering tourism across Asia, with analysts identifying the return of Chinese visitors as a potential source of further growth.
Operators remain cautious about publicly describing Chinese tourists as a core customer group because of Beijing’s continuing action against cross-border gambling promotion.
The Chinese embassy also rejected suggestions that casino growth driven by returning Chinese tourists should be viewed solely as a benefit to South Korea’s economy. It said gambling solicitation could damage bilateral tourism and wider people-to-people relations.
South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which issues casino operating permits, said China had not submitted a formal protest or requested government cooperation over the issue.
Ministry officials said they would remain open to discussions should the Chinese government make a direct approach.
The warning highlights the difficult position facing South Korean casino operators. Chinese visitors represent an important source of international demand, but marketing directly to that audience risks greater scrutiny from Beijing.
