Evžen Korec (born 16 September 1956) is a Czech scientist, entrepreneur and businessman. He is the owner and CEO of real estate development company EKOSPOL and

Tábor Zoo Tábor Zoo () is a zoological garden in the south-east of the town of Tábor, in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic, founded in May 2015. At 10 hectares, it is the largest zoo in the South Bohemian Region. The zoo focuses on the prote ...

. He is the co-author of 11 patents and more than 20 research papers published in international scientific journals. Korec has also written six books.

Education and scientific career

Korec graduated from the Faculty of Science at

Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...

in 1981, with a degree in

molecular biology Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...

and

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

. His

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

thesis was titled, "Analysis of Susceptibility and Resistance to Rous Sarcoma Virus in Inbred Line of Minor Poultry." Between 1983 and 1986, he worked as a

researcher Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

at the Institute of Molecular Genetics at the

Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences The Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (Czech: ''Československá akademie věd'', Slovak: ''Česko-slovenská akadémia vied'') was established in 1953 to be the scientific center for Czechoslovakia. It was succeeded by the Czech Academy of Science ...

, where he received a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

Oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's Etymology, etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγ ...

. His Ph.D. research involved investigating the expression of avian sarcoma virus

antigens In immunology, an antigen (Ag) is a molecule, moiety, foreign particulate matter, or an allergen, such as pollen, that can bind to a specific antibody or T-cell receptor. The presence of antigens in the body may trigger an immune response. An ...

Business career

In 1992, he founded the real estate development company EKOSPOL and remains its CEO and chairman. EKOSPOL is one of the largest

residential A residential area is a land used in which houses, housing predominates, as opposed to industrial district, industrial and Commercial Area, commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include ...

developers in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

market share Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a Market (economics), market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those ...

of apartment sales, and has been recognized among the 50 leading residential developers in Central and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

by a trade magazine. Korec regularly lectures at the

University of Economics in Prague The Prague University of Economics and Business (PUEB) (originally: ''the University of Economics, Prague''; '', VŠE'') is an economics and business-oriented public university located in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the largest university in ...

and frequently comments on residential development,

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

, housing, and the

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners t ...

market in Czech media. According to a 2012 analysis by Newton Media, Evžen Korec and EKOSPOL had a significant media presence in the Czech development industry, with Korec's media mentions increasing by 216% year-over-year and EKOSPOL receiving nearly three times the coverage of its major competitors.

Korec's rule

As the CEO of EKOSPOL development company, Korec formulated Korec's rule, which says: "The final sales price of an apartment with the area of up to 50 m² must correspond to a maximum of 20 times the annual rent in a given location. For larger apartments (large bedroom apartments, two-bedroom apartments, etc.) the sales price should be on the level of a maximum of 25 to 30 times the annual rent."

Animal protection

Korec is also involved in animal protection and

preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...

. Korec purchased

in 2015 after its shutdown. Later that year, the zoo re-opened to the public, with a focus on the protection of

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

animals. Korec breeds a variety of animals, including

koi carp , or more specifically , are colored varieties of carp (''Cyprinus'' sp.) that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens. Koi is an informal name for the colored variants of carp kept for ornamental purposes. The ...

and horses. He is the owner of the Korec Corso kennel.

Scientific research

Korec leads a scientific group in Tábor Zoo focused on the genetics of two animal models – dogs and bison. His group determined the average lifespan of

Cane Corso The Cane Corso is an Italian dog breed, breed of mastiff. It is usually kept as a companion dog or guard dog; it may also be used to flock guardian, protect livestock. In the past it was used for hunting large Game (hunting), game, and also to c ...

dogs through a study of a statistically significant group in cooperation with 72 Cane Corso kennels from 25 countries. The research aims to extend the lifespan of Cane Corso dogs. In this publication, the relationship between average lifespan and coat color was described in mammals for the first time. The research results were published in the ''Open Veterinary Journal''. He has also researched the inheritance of coat colour in the Cane Corso Italiano breed, describing the segregation ratio of coat colour in offspring in relation to that of the parents. The study proposes that at least one

gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

responsible for coat colouring is located on the

sex chromosome Sex chromosomes (also referred to as allosomes, heterotypical chromosome, gonosomes, heterochromosomes, or idiochromosomes) are chromosomes that carry the genes that determine the sex of an individual. The human sex chromosomes are a typical pair ...

. The findings are intended to help breeders predict various traits of the litter.

Personal life

Korec is married to Jana, and they have one son.

References

External links

Blog Evžena Korce
blog.iDNES.cz Evzen Korec's blog
The Y generation will decide it all, says Evzen Korec
lidovky.cz, 18.5.2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Korec, Evzen 1956 births Living people Czech businesspeople Charles University alumni