A long-awaited RFKR Resort in Incheon, South Korea, won’t be finished in the following 15 months. On top of that, the administrative procedures are still to be finalized, so the date of the grand opening is still unknown. 

Delayed works on construction:

The new foreign casino resort is already built to a certain extent, and an executive from R&F Korea, a promoter of the project, confirmed that the resort would be built in 15 months, but the additional administrative work will take more time after the project is completed. 

The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, which is in charge of the casino industry in South Korea, is aware of the timeline. 

An anonymous representative from R&F Korea said: “We are currently reviewing and preparing the site in order to resume construction. We have assured the ministry that we would submit a progress report every three months.” 

R&F Korea, a company that promotes the whole project, is linked to Guangzhou R&F Properties Co Ltd., a famous Chinese developer based in Hong Kong.

This timeline came as the result of the government’s warning in late April. Since the works on the construction were paused, the government had to intervene and warn that if the works don’t continue in the following three months, its 12-month extension on completing the first phase of the works will be reconsidered. So far, the deadline remains March 17 next year.

This extension came with a few conditions. The company has to prove that there are works on construction by July. There’s also a deadline for establishing casino operations plans and partnerships with the operator who will offer its services in the casino. The timeline for fulfilling these conditions is 12 months. The casino also has to submit an investment pledge during these 12 months. 

All of this is followed by providing evidence of direct foreign investment, as well as submitting reports every quarter.

R&F Korea’s financial issues:

However, there’s another issue R&F Korea is currently facing: obtaining financial investments which will help in building the new Korean casino resort. Various foreign investors already showed interest in investing, but the company wants more Korean investors to be included in the project.

Some funds will be obtained if the company succeeds in selling the plot of land it possesses. The land is situated near the future casino. This is the second plot R&F Korea is selling – the first one, previously planned to be used for residential apartments, is already sold.

The executive said: “Our construction delays to date are not unusual, as such delays due to funding problems are common in the country; some famous buildings here took 15 years to develop.” 

The casino will be built in the well-known Incheon Free Economic Zone, where many foreigner-only casinos are already operating.