[Edaily Kang Gyeong-rok Travel Reporter] Planned investment: 229 billion won; actual disbursement through October of last year: 9.5 billion won. These figures represent the planned investment and actual disbursement for the “Shilla Monogram” tourism and lodging facility development project in Namhae, South Gyeongsang Province. It has been revealed that a significant number of large-scale tourism development projects—announced by local governments as initiatives to attract investments worth hundreds of billions of won—have failed to enter the actual implementation phase due to changes in plans and schedule delays following the signing of memorandums of understanding (MOUs).
E-Daily tracked four major tourism development projects worth over 200 billion won each—for which local governments signed investment agreements over the past five years—where it was possible to compare the plans at the time of the agreement with their current status. Based on publicly disclosed current plans alone, the total project cost amounts to approximately 2 trillion won.

◇ Schedule Adjustments in Muan and Namhae… Follow-up Procedures in Yeosu and Goseong
The pace of project progress varied. For the “Doripo Resort” in Muan, South Jeolla Province, the completion target—originally set for 2024—has been pushed back to the second half of 2027. The “Shilla Monogram” in Namhae also saw its schedule changed from a 2026 completion plan to an opening in 2028. In contrast, land acquisition for the “Musulmok Tourism Complex” in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, is more than 80% complete, and the “4 Heritage Hotel & Resort” in Goseong, Gangwon Province, is currently undergoing procedures for the transfer of public property.
Large-scale tourism development projects must secure land after signing an agreement and then go through development planning and various permitting procedures. Construction cannot begin until equity investment and financing are secured. This is why it is necessary to distinguish between the investment plans presented at the agreement stage and the actual progress of the project thereafter.
The Muan Doripo Resort project began in April 2022 when Jeollanam-do Province, Muan County, and Doripo Kaipa signed an investment agreement. At the time, the plan was to invest 162 billion won in a site of approximately 47,000 square meters to construct 308 hotel rooms and 100 pool villas by 2024. Subsequently, following revisions to the county management plan and deliberations by the Urban Planning Committee, the project’s scale and facility plans were revised. The current projected project cost stands at approximately 240 billion won. The project is now set to include 245 hotel rooms and 105 pool villas. The district-level plan and topographic maps were finalized in March of this year. The developer plans to begin construction after obtaining a building permit and complete the project in the second half of 2027. This completion target is approximately three years later than originally planned at the time of the agreement.

Namhae Silla Monogram is the only one of the four projects to have obtained a building permit. South Gyeongsang Province and Namhae County signed an agreement with Hotel Shilla and Haehoon in May 2023. At that time, the plan was to invest 229 billion won to complete a hotel and 197 condominium units by 2026. Namhae County issued the building permit in March of last year. The project cost has since increased to 260 billion won, and the target date for completion and opening has been adjusted to 2028. Namhae County Council Member Im Tae-sik stated last October, based on data submitted by the county administration, that approximately 9.5 billion won of the 229 billion won investment plan for the project had been spent. This amounts to 4.1% of the planned budget.

An agreement for the Yeosu Musulmok Tourism Complex was signed in April 2023 between South Jeolla Province, Yeosu City, Moa Group, and Yeosu Leisure Development. At that time, the project was budgeted at 701 billion won. South Jeolla Province approved the designation of the tourism complex and the development plan last November. The current planned project cost stands at 898.5 billion won. The project plans to develop 810 hotel and resort rooms, 168 townhouse-style accommodations, and a golf course on a site of approximately 1.19 million square meters. As of last May, it was reported that more than 80% of the project site had been acquired. According to the project plan, construction is scheduled to begin this year, with completion targeted for 2030.
Goseong 4 Heritage Hotel & Resort signed an agreement with Goseong County in November 2023. At that time, the developer presented a plan to invest approximately 600 billion won to build a hotel, resort, and convention center in the Songjiho tourist area. The site was to be secured through a “donation-for-transfer” arrangement. Under this arrangement, the developer would construct existing sports facilities and auto-camping sites elsewhere and donate them to the county, while Goseong County would transfer existing county-owned land to the developer. Follow-up procedures for the transfer of public property are currently underway.
Hotel and resort development projects worth hundreds of billions of won often rely on a combination of the developer’s equity and project financing (PF). PF is a method of raising development funds based on the future cash flows expected from the project. Financial institutions review factors such as land acquisition status, progress on permits and approvals, the developer’s equity, and projected post-completion revenues to determine whether to grant a loan and the loan amount.

◇ It Took 12 Years for “Sol Beach Namhae” to Open
New PF transactions in the first quarter of this year totaled 16.8 trillion won, a 50% increase from the same period last year. In contrast, the PF loan delinquency rate at the end of March stood at 4.65%, up 0.77 percentage points from the previous quarter. While funding continues to flow, screening based on project viability is also intensifying.
An official in charge of real estate project financing at a commercial bank stated, “Just because a local government has signed an agreement does not mean financial institutions will automatically recognize the project’s viability,” adding, “We comprehensively review factors such as equity capital, land acquisition, the status of permits and approvals, and post-completion cash flow to determine whether to grant a loan and the loan amount.”
There are also cases where it took a long time to actually open. Sol Beach Namhae, which opened in July of last year, signed an investment agreement in 2013. After securing the site and obtaining permits, construction began in 2019, and the facility opened in 2025. It took 12 years from the signing of the agreement to the opening.
Experts point out that the success of investment attraction for large-scale tourism development projects should be evaluated not only based on the amount agreed upon in the agreement but also in conjunction with the actual progress of the project. This involves a step-by-step review of land acquisition, permits, the developer’s equity investment, financial agreements, groundbreaking, and the disbursement of construction funds.
Professor Shim Chang-seop of the Department of Tourism Management at Gachon University stated, “Due to the nature of the project, large-scale tourism developments can take some time to actually open.” He added, “However, local governments need to establish a system to continuously monitor the actual progress of the project, rather than simply presenting the value of signed MOUs as a measure of investment attraction success.”