[비즈한국] It has been confirmed that Club72, the golf course at Incheon International Airport, is currently selling access to its "Haneul Course"—which has a high rent-to-revenue ratio (operating rate)—only in the form of bundled packages with other course amenities. It is understood that among the golf course's four regular courses, the Haneul Course is the only one for which access cannot be purchased individually. The lessor, Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC), stated that it has never consulted with the private lessee regarding the sale of such bundled products and that it will take strict measures if their illegality is proven. Currently, the operating rate for the Club72 Haneul Course is 116%, a structure where the lessee incurs losses as revenue from the Haneul Course increases.
Haneul Course is the Only One Not Sold Individually
According to BizHankook's coverage, Silla Leisure, the lessee of the Incheon International Airport Haneul Course and Bada Course (collectively known as Club72), is not currently selling access to the Haneul Course individually, but is instead bundling it with access to Bada Course amenities. The Bada Course amenity access included in the bundles consists of 10 sessions at the automatic driving range (90 minutes), one session at the short-game practice area (60 minutes), and one round at the par-3 golf course (9 holes). Among the four regular courses at the facility, the Haneul Course is identified as the only one for which golf access cannot be purchased separately.
The price of the Haneul Course bundled product is higher than access to other courses during certain time slots. As of the afternoon of the 2nd, a search on the Club72 reservation site revealed that on Saturday, September 6th, at 6:10 AM, the green fee prices were: △Haneul Course (bundled) 280,000 KRW, △Bada Course Ocean 280,000 KRW, △Bada Course Lake 210,000 KRW, and △Bada Course Classic 210,000 KRW. On Monday, September 8th, at 7:40 AM, the green fees were: △Haneul Course (bundled) 180,000 KRW, △Bada Course Lake 160,000 KRW, △Bada Course Classic 160,000 KRW, and △Bada Course Ocean 150,000 KRW.
Some point out that these bundled sales could inflate golf course access prices. Seo Cheon-beom, head of the Korea Leisure Industry Institute, said, "While there are occasional cases where individual course access is sold alongside bundled products, it is rare to sell *only* the bundled product." He added, "Selling access to a specific course only in a package with other amenities limits consumer choice and can act as a factor that raises golf course usage costs."
It is understood that the lessor, Incheon International Airport Corporation, and the lessee, Silla Leisure, have not consulted regarding these bundled sales. An IIAC official stated, "We have never authorized the operator to sell hybrid products, and there is no separate (rent) calculation method for such products." They added, "We are currently in a lawsuit regarding damages for factors undermining the rent of the Haneul Course, and if the illegality of the bundled product sales is proven, we plan to deal with it strictly according to law and principle."
In response, a Silla Leisure official explained, "The Haneul Course has historically had high green fees as it is a premium course highly regarded for its quality compared to others," adding, "There is no significant difference in prices before and after the introduction of the bundled products." They further noted, "Deciding on sales methods like bundled products falls under a company's management autonomy."
Rent at 116% of Revenue: A Deformed Structure Where More Revenue Leads to More Losses
Club72 is a golf course constructed by the Incheon International Airport Corporation on the outskirts of Incheon International Airport. It consists of the Haneul Course in the Sinbul area, southeast of the airport, and the Bada Course in the northeast, the planned site for Incheon International Airport's 5th runway. The Haneul Course features an 18-hole public course, while the Bada Course has 54 public holes, 9 holes, and a driving range. As a support facility within the airport zone, the Incheon International Airport Corporation leases and operates Club72 with the goal of enhancing airport competitiveness.
In September 2020, IIAC selected a lessee for Club72 through a rate-bidding method. The method awarded business rights to the bidder who proposed a higher rent-to-revenue ratio (operating rate, %) for each course. The bidding rate weight for determining the winner was applied differentially based on the lease period: 76.92% for the Haneul Course (10 years) and 23.08% for the Bada Course (3 years). This created a structure favorable to bidders who proposed a higher operating rate for the Haneul Course. The minimum operating rates bidders could propose were set at 41.39% for Haneul and 46.33% for Bada.
Silla Leisure was selected as the lessee of Club72 in the aforementioned bid. The conditions required paying 116.1% of Haneul Course (18 holes) revenue and 46.3% of Bada Course (54 holes) revenue as rent. Applying the weightings for each course, Silla Leisure's overall operating rate reached 99.9971%. The difference in rates compared to the runner-up bidder was around 6%p. Silla Leisure began operations in April 2023 with the right to operate the Haneul Course for 10 years and the Bada Course for 3 years.
Currently, the more revenue the Club72 Haneul Course generates, the greater the lessee's losses, because the rent is set at 116.1% of revenue. For the lessee to make a profit, they must generate enough revenue from the Bada Course—where the rent is 46.3% of revenue—to cover the Haneul Course's losses. The aforementioned Silla Leisure official lamented, "Although we are doing our best to operate Club72 based on our expertise in golf course management, we are seeing annual losses of several billion won."
Could this deformed operating rate have been prevented? An IIAC official stated, "We proceeded with a single-bid approach (for both Haneul and Bada) to prevent the possibility of the Bada Course—which has a shorter lease term—failing to attract bids, and to enhance management and operational efficiency. We reflected the rates (10/13 and 3/13 respectively) based on the lease period ratios in the bid." They added, "We applied the highest-bidder award system according to the National Contract Act; there are no internal sanction policies for bids exceeding 100%, and there are no established plans for future bids."