GKL elects Lee Ki-woo as the new CEO

Grand Korea Leisure (GKL), which operates Seven Luck casinos exclusively for foreigners, appointed Lee Ki-Woo as the new chief executive officer(CEO) at a board meeting held on Dec. 3. New CEO Lee served at the Presidential secretarial office, the press relations office of the Korean Consulate General in Toronto, Canada and at the Korean Embassy in the United States.

GKL was established in September, 2005 to vitalize the Korean tourism industry and prepare for an arrival of 10 million tourists to Korea. It was expected to expand tourism content, reduce the balance of tourism deficit, create job opportunities for youth, and bolster the economic ripple effect.

In January of 2006, GKL opened the first foreigner-exclusive casino in the COEX, which is located in the Southern part of Seoul, the second in Hilton Hotel in Seoul and the third in Lotte Hotel located in Busan City, in May and June of 2006, respectively.

GKL received a series of awards for its efforts in promoting the national tourism, with its sales surpassing the US$100 million mark in 2007, just one year after its launch. It subsequently made US$300 million in 2008 and US$400 million in 2013.

In September of last year, GKL set a new vision of becoming a “Global Leisure Enterprise to Turn Dreams into Reality via Creating 3-trillion Won Sales by 2025” with its mission statement “Establishment of Sound Tourism Eco-system Based on Public Casino.” Along with the vision and mission, GKL also plans to start a bold investment plan to promote the national tourism industry.