China warns against use of social media to prompt its nationals to gamble in Jeju casinos

China’s consulate general in Jeju, South Korea, has cautioned against the use of Chinese social media platforms – by what it termed “unlicensed agents” – to solicit that nation’s citizens to gamble in Jeju’s foreigner-only casinos. It also urged the South Korean authorities to “earnestly fulfil their regulatory responsibilities and strictly regulate casino operations”. The commentary was in a statement issued via a consulate spokesperson and published in Korean in local Jeju news outlet, Jemin Ilbo. The notice – which was also lodged in Chinese on the diplomatic mission’s website – mentioned China’s “zero-tolerance” of efforts to solicit or organise Chinese citizens to gamble overseas, reiterating such activity was a crime under Chinese law. “We have often received reports and complaints from Chinese tourists that there are unlicensed agents using Chinese social media platforms to solicit Chinese tourists for gambling in Jeju Island via private messages. We firmly oppose this [practice],” the statement said. The consulate mentioned the benefits to Jeju of Chinese tourism, citing “nearly 1.9 million” visitors drawn from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, travelled to the South Korean holiday island for calendar-year 2025. Frequent “exchanges” between Jeju and China had strengthened the holiday island’s “confidence” in exploring further tourism-sector cooperation with China, said the consulate. The mission added: “We hope that the relevant South Korean departments will focus on the long-term development of Jeju’s tourism industry and the overall situation of China-South Korea, people-to-people exchanges.” The consulate also urged the South Korean authorities to: “Earnestly fulfil their regulatory responsibilities and strictly regulate casino operations, eliminate gambling activities targeting Chinese tourists, and maintain Jeju’s good image as a ‘peace island’ and ‘tourism capital.'” Per Jeju Tourism Organization data, in the seven months to July 31 this year, the island’s top three feeder markets for overseas tourists were the Chinese mainland (980,804); Taiwan (196,378); and Japan (57,813). In that period, the China tally grew 4.2 percent year-on-year; the Taiwan aggregate expanded 67.1 percent, and the visitor volume from Japan rose 57.2 percent. Jeju has a visa-free entry policy applicable to visitors from the Chinese mainland and a number of other regional source markets.