South Korea’s leading foreigner-only casino operator, Paradise Co, has announced a new joint leadership system under which it will have two co-existing CEOs.
Under the new structure, which was passed at the company’s general shareholders’ meeting on Friday, Choi Sunguk – who has served as Paradise Co’s CEO for the past three years – will oversee the company’s external cooperation division while newly promoted Choi Jong-hwan will oversee the management and finance divisions.
Choi Jong-hwan has been the CEO of Paradise Sega Sammy, the joint venture company that operates the Paradise City integrated resort in Incheon, for more than a decade as well as being CEO of Paradise Global and Paradise Hotel Busan.
In a filing, Paradise said Choi Jong-hwan has “performed various roles including CFO and group general manager since joining Paradise. He possesses essential experience and capabilities for the group’s strategic vision and sustainable growth.”
Paradise added that their newly promoted CEO had successfully opened Paradise City and in 2023 managed to reduce borrowings by more than KRW200 billion (US$149 million) despite a “difficult market environment due to increased uncertainty in the global financial market and an increase in the delinquency rate of domestic project financing (PF) loans.”
In his new role, Choi Jong-hwan will be tasked with improving corporate value, diversifying the business portfolio and improving the financial structure of the group, the company explained.
For his part, Choi Sunguk said, “We plan to resolve business issues in line with the increasingly uncertain market environment and lay the foundation for business expansion and strengthening casino competitiveness.”
On a move by Paradise to relocate its shares from KOSDAQ to KOSPI, he added, “We are planning various measures to increase shareholder value, including the current listing on the stock market. We will make shareholder-centered management our top priority and generate stable profits.”