The Korean daily media headlines and humor

The Korean daily media headlines and humor

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Your Excellency:

What’s ticking in Korea and around the world today?

Here are The Korea Post notices and a roundup of important headlines from all major Korean-language dailies, TV and other news media of Korea today:

Very Respectfully Yours

/s/

Lee Kyung-sik

Publisher-Chairman

The Korea Post media

P.S.: If the Headlines are no longer desired, please advise us at: edt@koreapost.com or pub@koreapost.com.

Speculation rising over N.K. leader's possible visit to China

Speculation is rising that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited China again in an apparent move to strengthen the relationship with his country's traditional ally ahead of his upcoming summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.According to sources, an apparent North Korean plane carrying a top Pyongyang official arrived in the Chinese northeastern city of Dalian on Monday, a day before Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to attend a ceremony marking the test operation of his country's aircraft carrier. Should the North Korean official on the plane be confirmed to be the North's leader, it would be his second known visit to China following the surprise trip there for his first summit with Xi in late March.

(For further details, visit: http://www.koreapost.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=6680.)

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Round-up of important news stories from major Korean dailies today:

The Korea Post media (www.koreapost.com) in English, (www.koreapost.co.kr) in Korean.

Moon calls for improved ties between Japan, N. Korea

South Korean President Moon Jae-in vowed efforts to help Japan improve its ties with North Korea, calling it a key to denuclearizing the North and enhancing peace and stability in the countries' shared region."Japan can play a very important role for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula. It is partly in that the normalization of North Korea-Japan relations may be a necessary part of a security guarantee for North Korea and that close cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan may be necessary for complete denuclearization (of the Korean Peninsula)," Moon said in an interview with Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun published Tuesday."Should the North-Japan relations be normalized, it will greatly contribute to the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the Northeast Asian region," he added, according to a full script of his interview released by the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.Moon's first exclusive interview with a Japanese newspaper came ahead of his trip to Tokyo on Wednesday for a three-way summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang.

S. Korea needs efforts to avoid U.S. anti-dumping moves: report

South Korea needs more attention to avoid U.S. anti-dumping moves as the bulk of its exports to the world's No. 1 economy overlaps with already regulated Chinese goods, a report said Tuesday.According to the report by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), 90 percent of South Korean exports subject to U.S. anti-dumping moves are the same types of Chinese-made products that the U.S. regulates to protect its domestic industries.The South Korean exports total 351, 98 percent of which are steel products."South Korean steelmakers need to pay close attention when they export steel products, on which the U.S. has yet to impose antidumping duties, but has already slapped punitive tariffs on similar Chinese goods," the report said.

Hyundai, Kia on track to achieve 2018 sales target

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. are on track to achieve their sales target of 7.55 million vehicles this year as they are expected to post nearly 10 percent on-year sales growth in the second quarter, company officials said Monday.As their sales have been on a recovery path in China since March, the two carmakers are likely to sell a total of 1.94 million vehicles in the April-June period, jumping 9.6 percent from 1.77 million units a year earlier, a Hyundai Motor official told Yonhap News Agency.In the January-April period, their sales in China rose 7.2 percent to 347,927 autos from a year ago. In the 14 consecutive months through February, the two firms posted negative sales growth in the neighboring market before sales began to rebound in March.

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KBS (http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/)

Moon Calls for Progress in Denuclearization Talks

President Moon Jae-in says that progress in denuclearization talks between North Korea and the U.S. should be a precondition for improvements in inter-Korean relations.Moon made the comment in a written interview with the Yomiuri Shimbun daily, which was released on Tuesday on the eve of his visit to Japan for a trilateral summit with the leaders of China and Japan.Expressing strong hopes for an agreement on the North's denuclearization at the upcoming U.S.-North Korea summit, Moon stressed that it is important to produce agreements and concrete measures to achieve complete denuclearization during the meeting. President Moon also expressed his willingness to cooperate with Japan over the issue of Japanese abductees in North Korea. He said that North Korea and Japan should seek to normalize their diplomatic ties, adding North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed his willingness to talk to Japan any time during the recent inter-Korean summit.

Top Office: Watching Reports of N. Korean Official's Visit to China

The presidential office says it is "closely watching" news reports that a high-ranking North Korean official may be visiting the city of Dalian in northeast China ahead of the U.S.-North Korea summit. Asked about the rumors, a senior presidential official said Tuesday that he can't talk about specifics, but didn't deny that a meeting between North Korean and Chinese officials could be taking place. A source familiar with North Korea affairs told KBS earlier that Dalian Airport was closed off to the public from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday and roads around the Bangchuidao Guesthouse in the city were also closed on Monday afternoon. The source said that it is possible the Chinese government invited a ranking North Korean official ahead of the first sea trial of China's first domestically built aircraft carrier, the Type 001A, which local media reported would begin Tuesday morning.

Police Find Additional Opinion Rigging by Blog Members

Police have found additional rigging of online comments by a group led by an influential blogger known by the username "druking."The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said on Monday that the group rigged public opinions by using a macro program on some 21-thousand comments posted on 675 online stories on January 17th and 18th. Police have also expanded their probe into the blog "a group for economic coevolution" operated by the blogger, summoning 21 key members of the group involved in the rigging. The blogger "druking" is currently in custody for allegedly rigging public opinions online by using a computer macro program that artificially ramps up the number of “agree” clicks for comments on the South Korean portal site Naver.

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Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr)

N. Korea slams Japan for supporting sanctions amid thaw on peninsula

North Korea lambasted Japan on Tuesday for supporting sanctions and pressure against its regime, ratcheting up its criticism of Tokyo amid expectations that the two countries could discuss normalizing diplomatic ties.Japan's support for sanctions and pressure against North Korea "is tantamount to throwing cold water over easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula," the Rodong Sinmun, the North's official newspaper, said in a commentary. "Seeking to profit from worsening security situations on the peninsula is Japan's bad practice."It went on to say that Japan is trying to turn the current diplomatic progress around as part of its ambition to reinvade the Korean Peninsula and that it is a longtime enemy of the Korean people.The North has sharpened its criticism of Japan ahead of its planned summit with the United States amid expectations that Pyongyang and Tokyo could discuss normalizing ties.North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed his willingness to hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on April 27, Moon's aides said. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has also said Tokyo is willing to talk with Pyongyang to possibly normalize ties and resolve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by the North.

S. Korea needs efforts to avoid U.S. anti-dumping moves: report

Fire breaks out on Panama-registered tanker off southern coast

A Panama-registered oil tanker caught fire in waters off the country's southern coast, authorities said Tuesday. The accident happened at around 9:10 a.m. in waters about 18 nautical miles south of an island of Tongyeong, about 340 kilometers south of Seoul, the authorities said. Patrol ships were sent to the scene. No casualties have been reported so far, the authorities added. Twenty-one crewmen are known to be aboard the 7,700-ton vessel. An official from the Coast Guard said high waves and unfavorable weather conditions are blocking rescuers from getting close to the site of the accident.

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The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com)

Moon calls for improved ties between Japan, N. Korea

Will NK recognize NLL after decades of opposition?

Just about a month after the armistice agreement was signed in July 1953, the US-led United Nations Command declared the Northern Limit Line on the West Sea to prevent accidental skirmishes between the two Koreas. However, North Korea has refused to endorse what South Korea and the UN Command have claimed as a de facto maritime border, resulting in a series of cross-border clashes such as naval battles near the border island of Yeonpyeongdo in 1999 and 2002.Buoyed by the mood of a detente following the inter-Korean summit, hopes are high that the North might signal a shift from its decadeslong opposition to the NLL, as the two Koreas’ leaders agreed last month to establish a maritime peace zone around the waters near the NLL.

Whistleblower urges US Customs to investigate Korean Air smuggling allegations

Park Chang-jin, a Korean Air employee of 22 years, revealed in 2014 what has come to be known as the “nut rage” incident. He said that Cho Hyun-ah, 42, then-Korean Air senior vice president, forced him, then a cabin crew chief, and a junior attendant who served nuts to her in an unopened package, to apologize on their knees. The Korean Air chairman’s daughter used abusive language and jabbed Park several times with a service manual. Cho even ordered the taxiing aircraft to return to the gate at Kennedy International Airport in New York so that Park could disembark from the plane.Cho was convicted and jailed by a local court for violating aviation laws, but was released after receiving a suspended sentence from the Supreme Court. She eventually returned as president of the KAL Hotel Network, a hotel business owned by Korean Air.

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The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr)

S. Korea needs efforts to avoid U.S. anti-dumping moves: report

South Koreans praise Trump for peace efforts

Few South Koreans were excited when Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton on Nov. 8 2016 to win the U.S. presidential election.When Trump started to threaten to unleash "fire and fury" on North Korea over the regime's nuclear weapons program, South Koreans feared the worst and felt that good days under Barack Obama's peaceful leadership had gone.But after the Trump administration's tough strategies involving "maximum pressure" brought North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the negotiating table, many South Koreans' views about him ― and Obama ― have changed dramatically."Obama was a refined, articulate leader who did almost nothing to resolve important issues surrounding North Korea," an elementary school teacher in Seoul told The Korea Times.

Samsung Securities employees face criminal charges

Samsung Securities has decided to file a complaint with the prosecution against a group of employees who sold company shares they were mistakenly given last Month, as part of its efforts to put the so-called fat finger scandal to rest.But this and other measures announced Monday appear to have failed to satisfy investors and customers, who have been calling on CEO Koo Sung-hoon to step down and the brokerage firm to take more drastic steps.The securities firm said CEO Koo has come up with three reform plans ― enhancement of morality, improvement in shareholder value and protection of investors ― as follow-up measures against the previous incident.As the company promised in its written apology released in April, Samsung Securities said it will file criminal charges against the 16 employees who sold their mistakenly received shares on the market, and six workers who tried to sell their shares that were not supposed to belong to them.

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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)

Foreign Adoptions Rising Despite Low Birthrate
Increasing numbers of foreigners are still adopting Korean babies even though the country is now among the world's richest economies and has an alarmingly low birthrate.According to the U.S. State Department, Korea ranked third among countries from which Americans adopted babies last year with 276 infants. First was China with 1,905, followed by Ethiopia with 313. Korea's ranking rose one notch from 2016 because adoptions from Congo and Ukraine declined.Altogether 398 Korean were adopted by families from overseas last year, going to Australia, Canada, Norway and Sweden.The reason is that Koreans are not only reluctant to have their own children but also stopped adopting. Only 465 babies were adopted by Korean families last year, down 14.5 percent from 2016. "This is largely because family traditions based on blood ties still prevail and the adoption climate chilled last year because there were a lot of stories about bullying of adopted children," said Kim Won-deuk of the Korea Adoption Services.

U.S. Says N.Korea Must Stop Launching Ballistic Missiles Too
The U.S. State Department has made it clear that North Korea must also stop developing intercontinental ballistic missiles, Voice of America reported on Sunday. Asked by VOA whether a request to stop missile launches includes a halt to satellite launches, a State Department spokesman said, "Any satellite launch using ballistic missile technology would be a clear violation of these resolutions."North Korea has repeatedly claimed that its launches of ICBM prototypes were for the purpose of launching peaceful satellites, though no signal has ever been detected from space."Multiple UN Security Council resolutions require North Korea to suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile program, re-establish a moratorium on missile launches, stop conducting any launches using ballistic missile technology, and abandon its ballistic missile program in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner," the spokesman added.

Pet Market Grows Explosively
Some 10 million people live with pets in Korea, and the pet market has increased by an average of 20 percent a year.BC Card analyzed card transactions by 100 million customers who have made payments to pet-related businesses over the past year and found that sales grew an average of 20.5 percent annually over the last three years.Their combined sales stood at W337 billion in 2017, up 45.2 percent from W232 billion in 2015 (US$1=W1,078). Naturally such businesses are densely concentrated in Seoul and other metropolitan areas. Some 32 percent of the pet industry's overall sales were made in Gyeonggi Province surrounding the capital, followed by Seoul (26 percent), Busan (8.1 percent), Daegu (6 percent) and South Gyeongsang Province (5.2 percent). Veterinary clinics accounted for 60.9 percent of the total sales, followed by products with 21 percent and grooming shops with 17.5 percent.

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HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)

Trump and Bolton deny NY Times report concerning reduction in US Forces Korea

US President Donald Trump and White House National Security Advisor John Bolton both denied a New York Times report claiming Trump ordered the review of a possible reduction in US Forces Korea numbers.Prior to leaving for a National Rifle Association (NRA) event in Dallas, Trump fielded questions from reporters at the White House on May 4 on whether the USFK troop reduction issue would be on the table at the upcoming North Korea-US summit and whether the US has plans to withdraw USFK.“No. No. And we haven’t been asked to [withdraw],” Trump replied.“Troops are not the table,” Trump reiterated.His remarks were a direct denial of speculation in some quarters that the USFK troop reduction issue would be addressed in some manner at the North Korea-US summit.But Trump’s real attitude was evident in his subsequent comments.

Analysts search for clues as Trump delays revealing details of North Korea-US summit

While US President Donald Trump said for two days in a row that the location and date had been decided for his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un – which would be the first North Korea-US summit in history – he has not released any of the specifics. As more time passes without Trump elaborating, a variety of analysts have offered their take on the reason.During a rally about tax reform in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 5, Trump said that a decision had been made about the time and location of the North Korea-US summit. He said much the same thing the day before, on May 4. When he was asked by reporters about the date of the summit inside Air Force One en route to an event organized by the National Rifle Association in Dallas, Texas, Trump said that the summit “will be very soon. I have the date. I have the location. It’s all agreed to.” But when asked about the timing of the announcement, Trump would only say, “It will be soon.”

Japanese paper reports North Korea orders review of light-water reactor

North Korea ordered related ministries to review the construction conditions of a light-water reactor in Sinpo, North Hamgyong Province, which had its construction suspended after the abandonment of its Agreed Framework with the US, a Japanese newspaper reported.In a May 6 report citing an unnamed North Korea relations source, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper wrote that North Korean officials ordered an inspection of conditions of a light-water reactor in the Kumho region of Sinpo, which has laid abandoned in a state of roughly 30% completion. The newspaper also said authorities had ordered a detailed report on the possibility of resuming the reactors’ construction and the materials needed to do so.

The light-water reactor in question is a two million-kilowatt unit the US agreed to provide to North Korea following their Agreed Framework in Geneva, which resolved the first North Korean nuclear crisis in Oct. 1994. Faced with chronic power shortages, North Korea asked for and won the US’s agreement in the framework to provide a light-water reactor in exchange for abandoning its nuclear weapons, along with heavy oil to serve as an energy source until the reactor was complete.

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JoongAng Ilbo (http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/)

Projects with North excite South’s regions

Regional governments across the country are gearing up to resume inter-Korean cooperation projects after the two Koreas agreed to boost exchanges, visits and contacts “at all levels” in their latest summit. Almost all joint projects with North Korea were forced to shut down under South Korea’s right-leaning Lee Myung-bak administration when Seoul announced a package of stiff sanctions banning cooperation with the regime on May 24, 2010, in response to Pyongyang’s torpedoing of the Cheonan warship on March 26, 2010, which killed 46 South Korean sailors. To this day, the North has denied any accountability.The Panmunjom Declaration, signed between South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on April 27, includes an agreement that both countries would encourage more interaction with each other in order to “rejuvenate the sense of national reconciliation and unity.”

All eyes now on Punggye-ri site

An inspection of North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site will be the first test of Kim Jong-un’s willingness to give up his nuclear weapons, experts say, but how far the mercurial leader will open up to international inspectors is anyone’s guess.A week before he met South Korean President Moon Jae-in for a summit, Kim told his top political aides that North Korea’s northern nuclear test site would be “dismantled” in order to “transparently guarantee the discontinuance” of any further nuclear experiment, remarks that were carried through the regime’s official mouthpiece, the Korean Central News Agency, the next day.Kim went a step further during the April 27 summit when he told the South Korean president that he would shut down the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in May and invite American and South Korean experts and journalists to watch the demolition, according to the Blue House. A South Korean government official told the JoongAng Ilbo Monday that local authorities initially assumed Pyongyang would start dismantling Punggye-ri this coming Thursday or Friday, but it appears the process was being delayed because the regime wasn’t sharing its schedule with Seoul. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the government was trying to figure out whether the delay was due to a technical reason or a political motive.

Samsung Securities’ ‘fat-finger’ fallout goes on

Samsung Securities has decided to criminally charge employees that sold the “ghost shares” they received by mistake last month. The brokerage firm Monday said that in addition to criminal charges, it is threatening civil suits against the rogue employees as well as the company’s own penalties. Also, 27 executives including the company’s CEO Koo Sung-hoon have decided to purchase company shares to emphasize the organization’s renewed morality, maximize shareholders’ value and protect outside investors, promises included in a public apology for the “ghost shares” blunder.The execution of these promises will be led by a new innovation department.

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The KyungHyang Shinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/)

The Reality of Unregistered Immigrant Children: We Cannot Ignore Them Any Longer
On May 5, Children's Day, children probably spent a warm and leisure day with their parents. But the majority of unregistered immigrant children in South Korea, whose number is estimated to reach over 20,000, had to spend the day alone without any parental care. The situation was the same for Hyeon-wu (9, alias), who has never seen his father (His story was published on the first page of the May 4 edition of the Kyunghyang Shinmun). Hyeon-wu's father worked in South Korea as an unregistered immigrant worker with Mongolian nationality and was deported to his homeland five months after Hyeon-wu was born.According to the immigration records of the Ministry of Justice, the number of unregistered immigrant children under the age of eighteen was 2,895 as of February this year, but this number does not include children like Hyeon-wu, who have no immigration record since they were born in Korea. Due to concerns of a police crack down and deportation, an estimated 20,000 immigrant children born in South Korea are unable to have their birth reported and be registered as foreigners. Unregistered immigrant children are fundamentally excluded from legal protection and benefits that children are entitled to. They cannot receive funding for health care or government support for basic living expenses from day-care centers and they cannot be registered for any disabilities.

Assault on Kim Sung-tae: Liberty Korea Party Fuels Controversy
The Liberty Korea Party is trying to stir controversy over the surprise attack by a man in his thirties on the party's floor leader Kim Sung-tae. Kim resumed his hunger strike following his assault on May 5, and other lawmakers have joined him in a hunger strike relay. The party raised allegations about a “conspiracy” claiming that the incident was an act of "terrorism on democracy and the opposition party." However, some people claim that the party has gone too far with talks of a mastermind behind the attack, which appears to be the expression of personal frustration.On May 6, Kim continued his hunger strike. Kim met with Park Joo-sun (Bareun Mirae Party), the vice chairman of the National Assembly, at the site of his hunger strike and said, "The government is neglecting representative democracy, just because the president is enjoying high approval ratings. There is no other choice but to continue with determination." After receiving treatment at a hospital the previous day, Kim attended a meeting of the party's lawmakers and said, "I will continue to express our anger and fight, even if I lose my life, let alone suffer a terrorist attack, until the day the government agrees to have a special prosecutor investigate the D-ruking incident." About a dozen lawmakers (proportional representation) joined the hunger strike this day.

A Surprise Team Korea in Table Tennis: Peace Spreads on the Korean Peninsula
North and South Korean female table tennis players currently participating in the 2018 World Table Tennis Championships in Sweden have decided to form a single Team Korea. On May 3, the Korea Table Tennis Association announced that the South Korean women's team taking part in the championships agreed to form a single Team Korea ahead of the quarter-final team match with North Korea, and that Team Korea would head for the semi-finals without a match. This is the first time in 27 years that North and South Korea have formed a single team since the Table Tennis Championships in Chiba in 1991. At the time, Team Korea beat China to become the champions in the team event.

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AJU Business Daily (http://eng.ajunews.com/korea)

N. Korea wants S. Korean help in developing high-tech economic zone

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un wants South Korea's participation in the development of high-tech zones, especially in Pyongyang, as part of cross-border economic cooperation agreed at a historic inter-Korean summit last month, officials said.At talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on April 27 in the truce village of Panmunjom, Kim called for South Korea's support and participation in the construction of telecom infrastructure such as a broadband network at high-tech development zones under construction in North Korea.In a bid to rehabilitate the North's moribund economy, Kim has proposed the construction of more than 20 special economic zones as a key piece of its economic development strategy. However, progress has been slow due to structural challenges such as a lack of infrastructure and military tensions caused by the North's nuclear and missile threats.

Budget carrier Jeju Air posts record-high Q1 net profit

South Korea's top budget carrier, Jeju Air, posted a 117 percent increased in its first-quarter net profit thanks to increased demand in popular routes in Asia.Jeju Air said Tuesday that its net profit jumped to 36.9 billion won (34 million US dollars) from 17 billion last year. Sales climbed 28.5 percent on-year to 308.6 billion won and operating profit soared 70.6 percent to 46.4 billion won.The company attributed its stellar first-quarter performance to an aggressive investment in increasing the size of its fleet and air routes to popular travel destinations in Japan and Southeast Asian countries.

SK Telecom acquires security firm ADT Caps with Australian firm

South Korea's largest mobile carrier, SK Telecom, will acquire ADT Caps, a major domestic security service provider, in a joint investment with Australia's financial services provider Macquarie.SK Telecom said Tuesday that its board approved the acquisition of ADT Caps jointly with Macquarie for about 1.27 trillion won (1.17 billion US dollars) including debts. The South Korean company will hold a controlling 55 percent stake while the Australian investor will control 45 percent.
The two companies will buy shares from Siren Holdings Korea which owns 100 percent of ADT Caps. The deal will be completed in the third quarter of this year.

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Maeil Business News Korea ( http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)

Hyundai Motor Group revises up Q2 sales growth target to 10%

South Korea’s automaking Hyundai Motor Group has revised up the global sales growth target for Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller sibling Kia Motors Corp. to above 10 percent for the second quarter upon seeing their new cars receiving strong responses from the market to deliver double-digit growth in April. According to industry sources on Monday, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have set their worldwide sales target for the April-June period to more than 1.2 million cars and 740,000 cars, respectively, or 1.94 million cars combined. The target is 10 percent more than the automakers sold a year earlier. They also expected their combined auto sales during the first six months this year to improve about 5 percent compared to a year ago period.

Busan Int’l Motor Show kicks off on June 7-17 in Busan

South Korea’s biggest annual auto show will kick off early June this year in Busan with about 200 cars of local and foreign brands to be presented. According to the Busan International Motor Show 2018 organizer, the country’s annual auto exhibition will be held at the Busan Exhibition & Convention Center (Bexco) in Busan from June 7 to 17. Under the slogan of “Beyond Innovation, Into the Future”, 19 automakers at home and abroad will showcase around 200 vehicles and hold various events at the show, according to the organizing committee. On the list are Korea’s Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, GM Korea, Renault Samsung Motors and Edison Motors. Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Audi, BMW, MINI,, Nissan, Toyota, Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz also visit Busan to demonstrate their latest vehicles.

SK Lubricants markets Repsol’s motorcycle oil in Korea

South Korea’s SK Lubricants Co. has added Spanish energy and petrochemicals group Repsol’s synthetic motorcycle oil to its premium product lineup to up its share in the fast-growing local motorbike engine oil market. SK Lubricants has been selling Repsol’s synthetic motorcycle oil in Korea since January this year after it secured exclusive sales and marketing rights of the Spanish firm’s motorcycle oil September last year. On Friday, two companies held an event introducing the new motorcycle oil to Korean engine oil sellers, said SK Lubricants on Sunday. The Korean engine oil maker hopes the addition of Repsol’s motorcycle synthetic oil to its premium product lineup would help to solidify its presence in local engine oil market.

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What’s ticking around the world at this second?

See what the world media around the world have to report:

USA Today www.usatoday.com aallman@gannett.com

The New York Times www.nytimes.com inytletters@nytimes.com

Wall Street Journal www.wsj.com support@wsj.com,service@wsj-asia.com

Financial Times www.ft.com ean@ft.com

The Times www.thetimes.co.uk help@timesplus.co.uk

The Sun www.thesun.co.uk talkback@the-sun.co.uk

Chinese People's Daily www.people.com.cnkf@people.cn

China Daily www.chinadaily.com.cn circulation@chinadaily.com.cn

GwangmyeongDaily www.gmw.cn webmaster@gmw.cn

Japan's Yomiuri www.yomiuri.co.jp japannews@yomiuri.com

Asahi www.asahi.com customer-support@asahi.com

Mainichi www.mainichi.jp

Le Monde www.ilemonde.com

Italy LaRepubblica www.quotidiano.repubblica.it vittorio.zucconi@gmail.com

Germany Frankfurter AllgemeineZeitung www.faz.net anzeigen.ausland@faz.de

SüddeutscheZeitung www.sueddeutsche.de forum@sueddeutsche.de

Australia Brisbane Times www.brisbanetimes.com.au syndication@fairfaxmedia.com.au

Sydney Morning Heraldwww.smh.com.au

Colombia Reports http://colombiareports.com

Bogota Free Planet http://bogotafreeplanet.com bfp@bogotafreeplanet.com

El Universal http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/english

Andes http://www.andes.info.ec/en

Ecuador Times http://www.ecuadortimes.net

The Jordan Times https://www.jordantimes.com

LSM.lv http://www.lsm.lv/en

The Baltic Times http://www.baltictimes.comlithuania@baltictimes.com, estonia@baltictimes.com, editor@baltictimes.com

El Pais http://elpais.com/elpais/inenglish.html

Philippine Daily Inquirer https://www.inquirer.net

Daily News Hungary http://dailynewshungary.com

Budapest Times http://budapesttimes.hu

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The Korea Post is running video clips from the different embassies.

Azerbaijan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR8CBpcQ4WM

Sri Lanka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hByX92Y2aGY&t=22s

Morocco: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfFmp2sVvSE

And many other countries.

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Lee Kyung-sik edt@koreapost.com