South Korea’s casinos have once again extended their latest pandemic shutdown, but this hasn’t deterred one operator from pursuing a new foreigner-only gambling permit on Jeju island. 

This weekend, South Korean authorities extended the social distancing measures currently in place for Seoul (Level 2.5, the second-highest tier) and the rest of the country (Level 2) through January 17. The greater Seoul region has hosted the bulk of new COVID cases, which topped 1,020 on Sunday, a worrisome rise from the 657 reported Saturday. 

Foreigner-only casino operator Grand Korea Leisure (GKL) subsequently announced that its three Seven Luck-branded casinos in Seoul and Busan – which were scheduled to reopen Monday morning – would now remain shut until January 18 at 9am. 

GKL rival Paradise Co Ltd, which unlike GKL is a purely private operator, is keeping its Paradise Walkerhill casino in Seoul shuttered, but its Paradise City integrated resort in Incheon remains open, as does its Casino Jeju Grand on Jeju island.