Paramount may join Korean park

Paramount Pictures Corp.’s licensing division said Thursday that it would explore a deal with the developer of a proposed South Korean theme park.

The partner, Daewoo Motor Sales Corp., said it planned to build the park in the airport city of Inchon, south of Seoul, at an estimated cost of $1.03 billion. Paramount wouldn’t put up money but would provide attractions from its entertainment library, which includes such hits as the “Mission: Impossible” and “Star Trek” films.

“It would feature characters, attractions, facilities based on our motion picture library,” Viacom Chief Executive Philippe Dauman said in a conference call about quarterly results. He said that Paramount reached a licensing deal with the South Korean car and construction firm, and that the studio had allocated no capital for the project.

The planned facility, on a 123.5-acre plot, will feature rides, a 300-room hotel, a water park, a media center and shopping malls, Daewoo said in a statement issued at a joint news conference in Inchon.

The park is due to open in 2009, said Daewoo, which hopes to take advantage of the growth in Asian tourism and lure South Korea’s affluent population.

Construction will start this year, and the whole park will be completed before the 2014 Asian Games to be held in Inchon, Daewoo said.