New Gwacheon Racecourse Site to Be Finalized in September... Relocation Costs Estimated at Minimum 2.4 Trillion Won Plus

Government to Launch Call for Site Proposals After Coordinating Relocation Funding in July
Korea Racing Authority: "Government Support Must Be Finalized Before Deciding on Relocation"

The site for the new racecourse to replace the Gwacheon Racecourse, operated by the Korea Racing Authority, is expected to be finalized in September 2026. The government plans to complete consultations within July on the funding required for the relocation and the scale of support from the central and local governments, after which it will proceed with the call for proposals regarding candidate sites. The Korea Racing Authority estimates that at least 2.4 trillion won will be required for the construction and relocation of the new racecourse. This estimate excludes the cost of purchasing the land where the racecourse will be built.

On July 18, an official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs stated, "We are currently discussing the funding for relocating the Gwacheon Racecourse, and will then proceed with a public call for proposals targeting local administrative districts in Gyeonggi Province, aiming to finalize the new site in September."

Previously, on January 29, 2026, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced a housing supply policy that included the Seoul Racecourse Park site. The plan aims to integrate and develop the Gwacheon Racecourse Park and the former Defense Counterintelligence Command site to provide housing for 9,800 households. Subsequently, on March 25, the Korea Racing Authority established a dedicated team reporting directly to the chairman, and in May, formed a joint labor-management task force. In June, the authority formulated an "Action Plan for the Sustainable Development of the Horse Industry and the Relocation of Seoul Racecourse Park."

According to this action plan, the Korea Racing Authority expects that at least 2.4 trillion won will be required for the relocation of the racecourse, excluding the land purchase. The authority anticipates construction costs alone will amount to 2.2907 trillion won, with 171.7 billion won for design and permitting, 918.1 billion won for indoor works, and 829.1 billion won for outdoor works. Additionally, it estimates 97.2 billion won will be needed for staff housing acquisition (45 billion won), special equipment (30 billion won), relocation of personnel, and transport of racehorses. In total, even without including land costs, a minimum of 2.3879 trillion won will be required.

A representative of the labor union at the Korea Racing Authority emphasized, "It is necessary to establish a system for increasing or compensating government support funds to account for the future rise of construction cost indices by the time actual construction begins. The government must also ensure legal grounds and implementation for 100% state funding, by reflecting the expansion of transportation infrastructure such as roads and subways for improving accessibility to the racecourse in the metropolitan transportation plan."

The Korea Racing Authority has also called for regulatory and tax reforms to spur the growth of the horse racing industry. Specifically, it requested the removal of the 100,000 won cap on betting ticket purchases and the abolition of the obligation for in-person sign-up for electronic betting to purchase such tickets. The authority argues that eliminating the requirements for in-person sign-up at racecourse premises and the annual approval for electronic betting operations would help stamp out illegal private horse racing and strengthen the competitiveness of the legal market, which is the intended purpose of implementing electronic betting. In addition, the authority requested: ▲ Expanding the internal reserve ratio of profits to secure investment resources and normalize management ▲ Introducing a new 'racecourse infrastructure construction fund' to finance the relocation.

Tax reform was also deemed necessary. The current system imposes a total levy of 16% on betting tickets: 10% leisure tax, 4% local education tax, and 2% special rural tax. The Korea Racing Authority insists that the leisure tax should be reduced to 8% of betting ticket sales. They argue that lowering the leisure tax to increase customer payouts would bolster the fight against illegal horse racing. Regarding the local education tax, the authority points out that although it is imposed to secure funding for local education, it has little actual connection between the gambling industry and local educational finances, and therefore calls for its abolition.

A representative of the labor union at the Korea Racing Authority said, "To expedite the relocation of the Gwacheon Racecourse, prior government guarantees regarding the necessary funding are required before proceeding with the site selection process. In addition, regulatory and tax reforms must be implemented in advance so that the Korea Racing Authority can compensate for the managerial and financial losses caused by the relocation of Seoul Racecourse Park and secure new growth engines for the horse industry."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.