이탈리아의 슈퍼카메이커 람보르기니와 세계적인 F1 레이싱팀인 윌리엄스1이 인천 영종도에 럭셔리한 레이싱클럽을 설립한다. 이 프로젝트를 추진중인 영국계 투자회사 웨인그로우파트너스에 따르면 최대 10억 달러 (약 1조)가 레이스트랙과 함께 7성급 호텔, 세계최대규모의 자동차 박물관 등의 건립에 투자된다.부지매입과 인허가절차 등을 거쳐 2014년 착공에 들어가고 2016년에 오픈 예정이다. 회원으로 등록하면 레이싱카는 물론 람보르니기니의 슈퍼카들을 몰고 F1트랙을 달릴 수 있고 본사에서 파견된 스탭들로터 트레이닝을 받을 수도 있다. 동북아시아 지역에 현재 약 73,000명의 슈퍼카 소유자가 있는 것을 감안하면 연간 방문객 수는 2016년 2만4,000명에서 2022년 3만8,400명까지 늘어날 것으로 기대하고 있다. 클럽회원은 중국인 35%, 일본 20%, 홍콩과 한국을 각 10% 구성할 계획으로 관계자에 따르면 초기 멤버는 200명으로 시작해 최대 천여명이 될 것으로 예상된다. "중국,

국내 출시를 앞두고 있는 재규어랜드로버의 프리미엄 SUV 올뉴 레인지로버가 이미 1차 수입분이 완판 됐다고 데이비드 맥킨타이어 한국지사장이 최근 코리아헤럴드와의 인터뷰에서 말했다.  그는 “초기 6개월분 계약이 이미 완료된 상황이다. 추가 물량을 얼마나 확보하느냐가 관건"이라며 즐거운 고민에 빠져 있다고 말했다. 구체적인 계약대수는 밝히길 정중히 거절했다. 10년만에 풀체인지(완전변경)를 거쳐 재탄생한 신형 레인지로버는 이번주 수요일 국내에 공식 출시될 예정이다. 한편 재규어랜드로버는 작년 새로운 모델 출시가 없었음에도 사상 최대인 3,113대의 판매고를 기록했다. 올뉴레인지로버 등의 신차 출시를 앞두고 한국지사는 한층 고무된 분위기이다. “영국 본사에서도 한국시장의 잠재력에 대해서 잘 모를때가 있었다. 하지만 지금은 가장 주목받고 있는 시장 중 하나이다.”한국은 재규어랜드로버의 전세계에서 7번째로 큰 시장이고 특히 재규어의 최상위 모델인 XJ가 네번째로 잘 팔리는 곳이다. “한국소

Ssangyong Engineering and Construction said Monday that its largest shareholder Korea Asset Management Corp. and other creditor banks have agreed to inject 200 billion won ($180 million) to support the troubled builder. A risk management committee at KAMCO recently approved a liquidity support plan, with the first batch of support worth 70 billion won expected to be made on Tuesday. Ssangyong offi

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un commended an army unit involved in a deadly skirmish with the South in 2010 and ordered immediate counter-attacks if provoked again, Pyongyang's state media said.The move comes as South Korea and the United States prepare to engage in an annual military exercise this week, described by the North as "an all-out war rehearsal" that could ignite conflict on the Korean

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un paid a visit to the front-line artillery unit responsible for the country's 2010 deadly bombardment of a South Korean island, extolling service members as heroes and telling them never to tolerate enemy aggression, state media said Saturday.The visit to the unit on the North's border island of Mudo came days before South Korea and the United States are to launch the

MOSCOW (AP) -- Three punk rock-style activists who briefly took over a cathedral in a raucous prayer for deliverance from Vladimir Putin were sentenced to two years in prison for hooliganism on Friday, a decision that drew protests around the world as it highlighted the Russian president's intensifying crackdown on dissent.Protesters from Moscow to New York and musicians including Madonna and Paul

WASHINGTON(Yonhap) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday signed into law legislation aimed at promoting human rights in North Korea, according to the White House.The law, which passed Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support, extends until 2017 the authority of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004. It is meant to put pressure on Pyongyang on the issues of human rights, democracy, refu

Former champion Liu Xiang left the Olympics Games in the first heat of the 110-meter hurdles for the second time in a row, clutching his right Achilles after he crashed into the first obstacle.It left one of the signature races of the games without one of its main characters, as many had hoped to see China's Liu challenge defending champion Dayron Robles and this year's top performer Aries Merrit

The Saenuri Party said Tuesday all of its lawmakers will give up their salaries for this month in accordance with the party leadership's decision to stick to the "no-work, no-pay" principle, a cornerstone in the ruling party's parliamentary reform measures.The measure to forfeit salaries when the parliament is out of work is one of six major reform measures the party is seeking to reduce privilege

North Korea appears to be ratcheting up threats against South Korea in an attempt to help new leader Kim Jong-un consolidate his grip on power, but the South does not rule out and is fully prepared for the possibility of new provocations, President Lee Myung-bak said Monday.In an interview with local and foreign media, Lee also urged Japan to take humanitarian steps to address long-running grievan

TOKYO -- The last working reactor in Japan is to be switched off Saturday, leaving the country without nuclear power just over a year after the world's worst atomic accident in a quarter of a century.As technicians ready to close down the No. 3 unit at Tomari in Hokkaido, the debate over whether Japan needs nuclear power has been reignited, amid increasingly shrill warnings of summer power blackou

SHANGHAI -- South Korea, China and Japan agreed on an action plan Saturday aimed at expanding cultural cooperation and exchange between the three countries.The deal reached in Shanghai calls for the designation of so-called cultural cities in each of the three countries in 2014, and the hosting of joint art fairs that can attract leading traditional and modern artists.The action plan was reached a

YEOSU -- Organizers for the 2012 Yeosu Expo said Saturday that they have successfully carried out a full-fledged dress rehearsal to check overall preparations for the international event.The three-month-long exposition that will officially open on May 12 is expected to attract visitors from all over the world, and highlight efforts being made to combat the challenges of climate change and its impa

LG Electronics Inc., the world's No. 3 handset maker, unveiled on Saturday a new Optimus smartphone running on the fourth-generation long-term evolution (LTE) network.LG Electronics said that the Optimus LTE 2 has 5 gigabytes of random access memory, the largest among smartphones sold in South Korea.The company said the RAM on the smartphone is twice as powerful as those found in many tablet PCs a

FRESNO, California (Yonhap) -- South Korean inspectors sent to the United States to check the safety of beef failed to visit a cattle farm in central California that reported the latest case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), an official source said Friday. Joo E-suk, head of the inspection team, said indirect contact was made with the owner of the farm through a veterinarian.He did not el

LONDON (AP) -- London's comic and outspoken mayor Boris Johnson won reelection Friday, triumphing in a closer-than-expected vote to secure a second term and his status as the unvarnished and unpredictable host of the 2012 Olympics.Johnson's victory, in election results confirmed late Friday, was a bright spot on a rough day for his colleagues in Prime Minister David Cameron's governing Conservativ

TOKYO (Reuters) – Less than a fortnight into his job as CEO, Kazuo Hirai sketched out a strategy to revive Sony Corp: a major push into smartphones, growth in games and cameras, and big cost cuts in a TV business that has not made a profit in 8 years.The Sony veteran, in his first public briefing as CEO, also targeted new business in medical equipment and electric car batteries, and set a target f

 

OSAKA, Japan -- President Lee Myung-bak arrived in Japan on Saturday for talks with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, overshadowed by fresh tensions arising from Tokyo's sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II.Lee's two-day trip to Japan was originally expected to be largely an occasion

South Korea is pushing to developinfiltration boats equipped with stealth functions as part of efforts to increase its maritime combat ability, a military source said Saturday."(The military) is pushing to develop stealth function-equipped special infiltration boats and other supporting craft with t