MARCH 20, 2000

Ecclestone wins Korean money

WHEN he is not making money Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone is making money. Last week he won an $11m law suit at the High Court in London when a judge ruled that he was entitled to keep the money which had been guaranteed by a South Korean company for the right to hold a race on a track in Kunsan City in 1998. The deal was agreed between Ecclestone and the Sepoong Engineering Construction Co. Ltd. in 1996 and an announcement was made at the BritishÊGrandÊPrix that year with plans for a 2.8-mile circuit to be built around a recreational complex. Tyrrell engineer Dr. Harvey Postlethwaite helped the Koreans to design a circuit and Ecclestone visited Korea and agreed on the basic track layout. The Koreans, however, failed to build the facility as promised and after the collapse of the South Korean economy in December 1997, Ecclestone cashed in the guarantee in exchange for the $11m. The Koreans claimed that Ecclestone had agreed not to enforce the letter of credit but the judge rejected the argument.