Tourists enjoy the scenery around the Namsan Seoul Tower in Seoul, South Korea, July, 18, 2026. (Photo by Jun Hyosang/Xinhua)

The Chinese Embassy in South Korea has rejected recent media reports claiming that Chinese tourists are the main driver of growth in South Korea's casino industry, urging Seoul to tighten the oversight of casino industry and curb gambling-related solicitation targeting Chinese visitors.

According to a post on its WeChat account on Monday, Tang Liang, counselor in charge of consular affairs at the Chinese Embassy in South Korea wrote an article in the Korea Times, criticizing certain South Korean media claims that casinos in Korea should make the return of Chinese tourists their core growth engine and position Chinese visitors as the primary clientele for the gambling industry.

"We are deeply shocked by such remarks and firmly opposed to such practices, which warrant serious reconsideration," Tang wrote.  

The article critically examines the social harms of gambling, explains the anti-gambling laws and policies of both China and South Korea, and calls on the South Korean side, in the broader context of China-South Korea friendship, to regulate casino operations and stop gambling solicitation targeting Chinese tourists, according to the embassy.

The embassy said both China and South Korea have laws and policies that restrict gambling, noting that South Korea bars its own citizens from entering most casinos, while China maintains a zero-tolerance stance toward gambling and also prohibits Chinese citizens from gambling overseas.

"It is highly inappropriate for Korean casinos to conduct targeted marketing and recruitment specifically toward foreign nationals, especially Chinese people," the article said, warning that such practices are entirely detrimental to bilateral people-to-people exchanges and offers no benefits whatsoever.

The embassy also said the two governments have maintained close cooperation in cracking down on cross-border gambling, adding that the gambling industry "does not belong to the category of sound and constructive people-to-people exchanges."

Citing recent incidents involving Chinese citizens at South Korean casinos, the article said some Chinese students in South Korea had died by suicide after accumulating heavy gambling debts, describing such cases as "deeply distressing."

It said these gambling-related tragedies not only seriously violate the legitimate rights and interests, personal safety and property security of Chinese citizens, but also severely disrupt the order of South Korea's tourism market and damage the country's international image.

China and South Korea are important close neighbors. The visa facilitation measures introduced by both countries to promote personnel exchanges and boost economic development through tourism serve the fundamental interests of both sides and help enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, the article noted.

"However, seeking to profit from foreign tourists through the gambling industry is not only a harmful and short-sighted approach, but also gradually erodes the friendly feelings between the peoples of the two countries."

China will strengthen education for outbound Chinese tourists, guiding them to exercise self-discipline and avoid crossing the legal red line by engaging in gambling, the embassy states.

The embassy also called on the South Korean side to fulfill its regulatory responsibilities over tourism institutions, strictly standardize casino operations and put an end to gambling recruitment targeting Chinese tourists, according to the article.

Global Times