Last year, the number of reported illegal horse racing sites and investigations in South Korea increased by 6.6 times and 4.2 times, respectively, compared to four years ago. Meanwhile, the legal auction market has stagnated, raising urgent calls for effective measures to eradicate illegal horse racing.
On September 27, Lee Seong-gwon, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, revealed data from the Korea Racing Authority showing that the annual number of reported illegal horse racing sites has risen as follows: 1,269 in 2021, 1,432 in 2022, 1,683 in 2023, 6,787 in 2024, and 8,389 in 2025. The number of reports last year was 6.6 times higher than four years ago.
The number of investigations also increased significantly, with figures of 143 in 2021, 349 in 2022, 460 in 2023, 507 in 2024, and 606 in 2025, marking a 4.2-fold increase during the same period. The number of illegal site closures has also grown, with 10,118 in 2021, 12,177 in 2022, 15,345 in 2023, 17,498 in 2024, and 15,572 in 2025.
According to the Korea Racing Authority, the size of the illegal horse racing market is estimated at 15 trillion won. Industry insiders express concern that the rise in illegal horse racing sites is stifling the legitimate horse racing industry. While the illegal market has expanded, legal horse racing revenues have stagnated at 6.5 trillion won in 2023, 6.5 trillion won in 2024, and 6.4 trillion won in 2025.
As a result, there are calls for the Korea Racing Authority to focus on proactive measures rather than just post-incident enforcement, such as closing illegal sites. Lee stated, "Despite the closure of over 70,000 illegal sites in the past five years, the illegal horse racing market is still estimated at 15 trillion won. Illegal horse racing can undermine the foundation of a healthy horse racing industry, so we need to strengthen measures to prevent and block the influx into illegal horse racing, alongside post-incident responses."
On September 27, Lee Seong-gwon, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, revealed data from the Korea Racing Authority showing that the annual number of reported illegal horse racing sites has risen as follows: 1,269 in 2021, 1,432 in 2022, 1,683 in 2023, 6,787 in 2024, and 8,389 in 2025. The number of reports last year was 6.6 times higher than four years ago.
The number of investigations also increased significantly, with figures of 143 in 2021, 349 in 2022, 460 in 2023, 507 in 2024, and 606 in 2025, marking a 4.2-fold increase during the same period. The number of illegal site closures has also grown, with 10,118 in 2021, 12,177 in 2022, 15,345 in 2023, 17,498 in 2024, and 15,572 in 2025.
According to the Korea Racing Authority, the size of the illegal horse racing market is estimated at 15 trillion won. Industry insiders express concern that the rise in illegal horse racing sites is stifling the legitimate horse racing industry. While the illegal market has expanded, legal horse racing revenues have stagnated at 6.5 trillion won in 2023, 6.5 trillion won in 2024, and 6.4 trillion won in 2025.
As a result, there are calls for the Korea Racing Authority to focus on proactive measures rather than just post-incident enforcement, such as closing illegal sites. Lee stated, "Despite the closure of over 70,000 illegal sites in the past five years, the illegal horse racing market is still estimated at 15 trillion won. Illegal horse racing can undermine the foundation of a healthy horse racing industry, so we need to strengthen measures to prevent and block the influx into illegal horse racing, alongside post-incident responses."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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