The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources is said to be reviewing the use of Kangwon Land's funds to resolve the Korea Coal Corporation (KOCOAL)'s accumulated liability of 2.5 trillion won. Kangwon Land is the country's only casino open to Koreans, established under the Special Act on Assistance to the Development of Abandoned Mine Areas to revive regional economies depressed by mine closures.
According to ChosunBiz reporting compiled on the 13th, a draft of the "KOCOAL liability resolution plan" recently prepared by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) includes a measure to use Kangwon Land funds.
KOCOAL has only been selling stockpiled coal since closing the last mine, the Samcheok Dogye Mining Office, in June last year. As of the end of 2024, KOCOAL's liability reached 2.4642 trillion won, with annual interest expense alone exceeding 80 billion won.
A long-term financing plan using Kangwon Land was also included in a "service report on improving KOCOAL's financial conditions" commissioned by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) last year.
The report proposed adjusting the statutory levy rates that Kangwon Land pays to the Tourism Promotion and Development Fund and the Abandoned Mine Area Development Fund (10% and 13% of gross sales, respectively), and using part of them to repay KOCOAL liability.
To prepare for the possibility that adjusting existing funds may be difficult, it also included an alternative to create another "coal industry rationalization fund" and use a set percentage of Kangwon Land's revenue as resources to resolve KOCOAL liability.
The report said, "Under the Abandoned Mine Area Act, part of Kangwon Land's profits must be used for a certain period to promote tourism and develop the abandoned mine areas," and analyzed, "If 10% of Kangwon Land's annual revenue (1.4269 trillion won in 2024) is raised each year, all KOCOAL liability could be repaid in about 20 years."
This plan to use Kangwon Land resources was specified as an "integration execution plan with the Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corporation (KOMIR)." Because KOMIR is Kangwon Land's largest shareholder (36.27% equity), the corporation's management and decision-making role is unavoidable in the process of providing resources.
An official at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) said, "There is a direction that Kangwon Land should play a certain role in resolving KOCOAL liability," and added, "After discussions in an interagency council in February, we plan to finalize the plan at the Public Institution Management Committee."