Circa 400 casino staff at Jeju Dream Tower strike over rest times: union

About 400 employees at Jeju Dream Tower resort’s foreigner-only casino (pictured in a file photo) on the holiday island of Jeju in South Korea, began a strike at 7am on Monday (September 28), according to a labour union claiming to represent some of the strikers. An official from the Jeju autonomous government told GGRAsia in response to a text enquiry that the strike was scheduled to run until 7am on Saturday (October 3), but that the casino remained open, with a reduced number of gaming tables in operation. The present strike follows a two-day partial stoppage of work on September 18 and 19, involving about 300 employees, according to the union, the Korean Service Workers’ Union, which is affiliated to the Korean Federation of Trade Unions. The current strike began after the union and management failed to narrow their differences in wage and collective bargaining negotiations, said the Jeju government. GGRAsia approached the management at Jeju Dream Tower, for comment. It confirmed the strike had commenced among some staff, but rebutted the union’s claims on the grounds for the action. According to data from South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Jeju Dream Tower casino had a total of 1,175 employees as of April 2026. The casino’s dealers typically worked 80-minute shifts with 20-minute breaks, and sometimes 120 minutes continuously, said the union. It added in a statement shared with the Jeju government, that it can take dealers 10 minutes just to reach staff rest areas. The union is seeking 60-minute shifts. Jeju Dream Tower, operated by Lotte Tour Development Co Ltd, rebutted the union’s claims in the statement it sent to GGRAsia on Tuesday morning. Management said operations remained normal despite the strike and defended the 80-minute shift system as an international industry practice used in the Macau and Singapore casino markets. For its part, the union said was also seeking a formal performance-bonus system, higher starting salaries for new employees, and changes to promotion and compensation arrangements. The statement added that the strike was not simply about higher wages, but reflected concerns that working conditions and employee compensation had not improved in line with the casino’s business expansion. The union also called on the Jeju government to consider the impact of casino expansion on staffing levels, workloads and working conditions associated with staff overseeing increases in gaming tables and gaming equipment.