South Korea studies Japan’s MGM Osaka resort and its potential market effects

Around 50 officials, academics, and industry representatives from South Korea are meeting in Osaka, Japan, this week to analyze Japan’s integrated resort (IR) strategy and discuss coordinated approaches to the potential impact and risks presented by the $9 billion MGM Osaka project.

The two-day forum, organized by the Korea Casino Tourism Association and the Korea Tourism Society, is focused on understanding how Japan’s integrated resort policies could affect South Korea’s casino and tourism industries. The event includes sessions on policy options and potential business responses for operators in the Korean market.

Industry observers have raised concerns that MGM Osaka could attract as many as 7.6 million Korean visitors annually. Such a shift could have implications not only for Kangwon Land, the country’s sole casino open to local residents, but also for the 17 foreigner-only casinos that primarily serve expatriates and tourists from Southeast Asia, including Japan.

In response to the projected impact of MGM Osaka, Kangwon Land has begun planning the redevelopment of its High1 resort into a wellness and sports-centered destination. The project, branded as “K-HIT,” is part of a phased strategy to adapt to changing market dynamics.

“Korea’s casino and tourism industry faces a pivotal test. Through phased innovation strategies like K-HIT, we aim to secure competitiveness, revitalize the mining region economy, and strengthen Korea’s global standing in integrated resorts,” said Choi Cheol-gyu, Kangwon Land’s acting CEO, in a statement released Sunday.

MGM Resorts, the parent company of MGM Osaka, has disclosed that the integrated resort is expected to open around 2030. The development will feature Japan’s only licensed casino, 2,500 hotel rooms spread across three hotel brands, 730,000 square feet of meeting, incentive, convention, and exhibition (MICE) facilities, and other attractions designed to showcase Osaka and Japanese culture.

The forum marks one of the first collaborative efforts by South Korean casino and tourism stakeholders to examine Japan’s integrated resort strategy in detail as they prepare for shifts in regional tourism and gaming trends.