Jeongseon County in Gangwon Province is accelerating its efforts to host a Ministry of Justice correctional facility, recently holding a large-scale resolution rally with 1,000 residents.
While the initiative aims to secure a new growth engine for a region struggling with the decline of the coal industry and population loss, controversy persists over whether building a correctional facility in the Sabuk area—adjacent to Kangwon Land, the nation's only casino open to locals—is appropriate.
In particular, with the urgent need to strengthen Kangwon Land's competitiveness ahead of the 2030 opening of Japan's Osaka Integrated Resort (IR), critics point out the necessity of objectively verifying the potential impact of a correctional facility on the casino tourism industry.
■ Jeongseon County Focuses Administrative Power on Correctional Facility Bid
On the 3rd, Jeongseon County held a county-wide resolution rally at the Jeongseon Public Stadium, attended by approximately 1,000 residents and social organization representatives, to advocate for the correctional facility.
Participants expressed their commitment through readings of resolutions, chanting slogans, and picket performances.
Jeongseon County maintains that the facility is necessary to overcome the ongoing population outflow and economic crisis following the decline of the coal industry.
The Ministry of Justice's new construction project involves building four correctional facilities nationwide, with the site proposed by Jeongseon County spanning approximately 192,700㎡ in Jikjeon-ri, Sabuk-eup.
The total construction cost is estimated at 241.9 billion won, with plans to accommodate 1,000 inmates and 250 resident staff.
Jeongseon County expects an influx of about 600 people, including staff and their families, and 15,000 visitors annually for inmate visitations.
Furthermore, the county anticipates various economic benefits, such as job creation during construction, participation of local businesses, agricultural product purchases, and the revitalization of local commercial districts.
Na Su-bin, head of Jikjeon-ri, Sabuk-eup, emphasized, "A correctional facility is a key card for regional revitalization that can drive local consumption, employment effects, and infrastructure improvements."
Jeongseon County Governor Choi Seung-jun stated, "We will do our best in administrative and financial support and communication with residents so that the earnest desire of the county people can lead to final selection."
■ Comparing the Economic Impact of a Prison vs. Kangwon Land
Jeongseon County's push for a correctional facility is significant as an effort to counter population decline and economic stagnation.
The issue is whether the economic effects of the facility and its impact on the existing Kangwon Land tourism industry have been sufficiently compared and analyzed.
Jeongseon County projects approximately 15,000 visitors annually for the facility.
In contrast, Kangwon Land is a premier domestic casino tourism facility that attracted about 3 million visitors annually before COVID-19. In 2025 alone, casino admissions reached approximately 2.48 million.
Comparing simple visitor numbers, Kangwon Land's casino admissions are about 165 times higher than the projected visitation for the correctional facility.
Of course, casino figures include repeat visitors and the correctional facility numbers are projections, so a direct comparison of economic impact is complex.
However, it highlights a significant gap between the large-scale casino tourism demand already secured by Jeongseon and the new tourism and consumption demand the county hopes to create through the correctional facility.
Jeongseon County's plan is to reduce dependency on Kangwon Land and secure a new economic foundation through the facility.
However, the need for economic diversification and the judgment that a correctional facility is the optimal alternative are separate issues.
It is necessary to specifically verify the actual employment growth, population settlement effects, and sustainable consumption creation that the facility would bring to the region.
In particular, it must be considered that even if 250 or more full-time positions are created, it does not guarantee that all will be filled by local residents or that they will reside in Jeongseon County.
■ Kangwon Land Ahead of Osaka IR Opening: Impact on Tourism Image?
What is even more notable is that the proposed site for the correctional facility is in the Sabuk area, which is included in the Kangwon Land casino tourism zone.
Kangwon Land is pursuing large-scale facility investments and casino competitiveness enhancement projects to respond to Japan's Osaka IR, scheduled to open in 2030.
The strategy is to increase competitiveness as a stay-type integrated resort through casino facility expansion, hotel renovations, and tourism content improvements.
In this situation, as Jeongseon County pushes for a correctional facility near the casino, the potential impact on the city's tourism image and customer perception has emerged as a new issue.
Of course, there is no evidence to conclude that the presence of a correctional facility will automatically lead to a decrease in tourists or casino revenue.
However, it is prudent to be cautious about moving forward without objective surveys on how casino customers perceive correctional facilities and whether they affect tourism image and visit intentions.
The first resident briefing held by Jeongseon County on October 8th was attended by only about 30 people, including officials and residents.
While the bid has since expanded through the county council's resolution and this large-scale rally, it is difficult to judge the consensus of the entire local community based solely on event attendance.
In particular, the extent to which the opinions of tourism industry stakeholders—such as Kangwon Land employees, casino customers, and operators of lodging and restaurants—have been gathered is a crucial matter.
■ Balancing Regional Economic Recovery and Tourism Development
There is no reason to deny the policy direction of Jeongseon County seeking new growth engines rather than relying solely on Kangwon Land.
Correctional facilities have the potential to contribute to stable public-sector jobs and resident population growth, and could be a meaningful investment project for a former coal mining area suffering from long-term population decline.
However, Kangwon Land is not just a simple casino.
It was established for the purpose of economic recovery in former mining areas and is linked to various industries including local lodging, food service, transportation, and service industries, centered on casino tourism.
Therefore, when evaluating the economic feasibility of the correctional facility, it is necessary to examine not only new investment and job creation effects but also the potential for coexistence with the existing tourism industry.
The projections of 600 new residents and 15,000 annual visitors presented by Jeongseon County also require verification of their specific calculation basis and actual settlement feasibility.
Conversely, the potential negative impact of the facility on surrounding tourism should not be judged based on vague concerns alone.
It is important to identify the actual impact through objective research and analysis.
Jeongseon County plans to expand signature campaigns and promotional activities following this rally.
However, just as important as the large-scale rally is the task of objectively explaining the economic effects and impacts on the tourism industry, and gathering opinions from various stakeholders.
Whether the correctional facility will become a new growth engine for Jeongseon County or a policy choice that clashes with the existing casino tourism industry remains to be seen.
Attention is focused on what verification data and coexistence measures Jeongseon County will present in the future.
