Hee K. Cho, who is also the president of the Korean-American Chamber of Commerce of Guam, said he believes in Rota’s potentials.
He acquired the property a year ago but the transfer leasehold agreement for the public land where the hotel is located was only officially transferred to his firm, SNM, yesterday.
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial and Public Lands Secretary John Del Rosario Jr. signed the government’s consent to transfer the leasehold interest of the 700-acre property where the hotel is located.
Cho said he bought Rota Resort because he fell in love with the island and believes that Korean and Chinese tourists will also be enchanted by its pristine beauty.
“Rota is beautiful and romantic. Rota has every attraction that people would like to see,” he told reporters during a press conference at the governor’s office.
The investor said he is asking Freedom Air to bring in at least 16,000 players from South Korea and Japan for the yet to be established casino.
He plans to eventually charter direct flight service to Rota to bring in regular players from Japan and South Korea.
“We are in discussion with Freedom Air and also other companies to charter flights from Korea or Japan to Rota. But it’s not simple as that,” he said and stressed that they still face many hurdles before the casino project can actually begin.
The businessman said his firm is not trying to compete with Tinian’s own casino industry but will instead complement it.
Fitial said the more gaming establishments there are the better for the destination.
Cho said he is also interested in establishing a bottled mineral water business on Rota and entering a partnership with the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. in supplying cheaper electricity on the island.
Rota Resort can produce its own electricity. In the past, CUC bought power from the hotel because its power plant failed to function.
