Philippines hospitality giant Bloomberry Resorts Corp has completed its sale of Jeju Sun, a casino resort on Jeju Island in South Korea.
Philippines gaming operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp, helmed by billionaire Enrique Razon Jr, has officially departed the South Korean gaming market.
On Wednesday, Golden & Luxury Co Ltd, Bloomberry’s indirect South Korean subsidiary, completed the sale of Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino to Gangwon Blue Mountain Co Ltd. Under a deal inked last October, Golden & Luxury planned to “spin off its casino business to a separate new company, then sell said company”. The move transfers the gaming licence and operations of Jeju Sun to a new company, Heaven Co Ltd.
The buyer, now identified as Blue One Ltd, paid KRW7 billion (US$4.874 million) for the property on the holiday island of Jeju in the Korea Strait. A balance of KRW3 billion is due in February 2027.
“By this transaction, Bloomberry’s indirect subsidiary exits from the casino business in Jeju Island,” the company stated. “However, they retain ownership of real estate properties including gaming space leased out to Heaven Co Ltd and operate a hotel and F&B outlets.”
Razon: South Korea an imprudent investment
Bloomberry first acquired Jeju Sun (then THE Hotel Vegas) in 2015. Within a year, it was looking for the exit. In 2016, a planned sale to Iao Kun Group Holding Co, for KRW117.5 billion in cash, fell through when the VIP junket promoter could not secure financing.
Enrique, Bloomberry chairman and CEO, later acknowledged that buying Jeju Sun was ill-advised due to South Korea’s hardline stance on locals gaming. Only one casino in the country, Kangwon Land in remote Gangwon Province, is open to South Korean gamblers.
“If locals cannot play, then you can never make a real property, a real resort,” Razon in 2020. “It will always be small, sort of like a niche player. And you’ll probably have difficulty growing from there.”
Jeju Sun, adjacent to Jeju International Airport, has 208 rooms and suites, 2,125 square metres of gaming space, dining options, a bar and lounge, and an events space. Heaven Co will continue to run its casino at the current property under a lease agreement until it can move to new premises.
Bloomberry, meanwhile, is focusing on its domestic gaming business. There it operates the Solaire Resort & Casino in Manila’s Entertainment City and Solaire North in Quezon City, which opened in May 2024. Capital from the sale will also support a planned Solaire-branded casino in Cavite, south of Metro Manila. Its iGaming arm, Solaire Online, launched in early 2025.
Marjorie began her gaming career in 2007 and has focused on Asian gaming markets since 2020. Outside of work, she writes about travel and film and plays the drums.