The Chinese Embassy in Seoul has pushed back strongly against reports in some Korean media outlets calling for Chinese tourists to be made the primary engine of growth for the country's casino industry.
The embassy published a full op-ed Tuesday on its official WeChat account, saying counselor Dang Liang, who oversees consular and overseas Chinese affairs, had recently submitted the piece to a media outlet.
In the article, Dang said some Korean media had recently argued that Chinese tourists should be treated as the casino industry's main customers. "We were deeply shocked by this and firmly oppose it," he said.
He said it is widely recognized by the international community that gambling seriously undermines the rule of law and public order. He noted that Korean law strictly limits its own citizens' participation in gambling and bars them from most casinos.
"China is even stricter," Dang said. "Chinese law applies a zero-tolerance principle to gambling, and it is also illegal for Chinese citizens to participate in gambling abroad."
Against that backdrop, he said it was "highly inappropriate" for Korean casinos to aggressively market themselves to foreign visitors — particularly Chinese nationals — and for some media to publicly promote this as a so-called "driver of economic growth."
Dang said the leaders of the two countries had successfully completed reciprocal visits in late 2025 and early this year, reaching a shared understanding on expanding healthy and sound people-to-people exchanges. "The casino industry clearly does not fall under 'healthy and sound people-to-people exchanges,'" he said, adding that encouraging Chinese tourists to gamble would be entirely harmful to bilateral ties.
He said a series of negative incidents involving Chinese nationals and Korean casinos had occurred in recent years, including cases in which Chinese students had died by suicide after running up large gambling debts. "These gambling-related tragedies not only infringe on the legitimate rights and interests, and the physical and financial safety, of Chinese citizens, but also undermine order in South Korea's tourism market and damage South Korea's international image," he said.
If you're thinking about self-harm or suicide, contact the Ministry of Health and Welfare's helpline 1393, available 24/7. Please request a translator for English-language services.
Dang added that the two countries had been expanding people-to-people exchanges through visa facilitation measures and promoting economic growth by boosting tourism. "But trying to profit from foreign tourists through casinos is not only shortsighted — it also damages the goodwill between the peoples of the two countries," he said.
jshan@heraldcorp.com
