1. BILATERAL/MULTILATERAL ISSUES

DP’s Sohn apologizesfor flip-flopping on EU FTA [English: OYS]

Democratic Party leader Sohn Hak-kyu apologized to the people for the chaos around the ratification of the Korea-EU free trade agreement, which he promised to support and then backed away from, stressing he wasn’t opposed to the deal itself, but was “against the insufficient bill.”

“What deserves a reprimand must be reprimanded,” Sohn said in an interview with the JoongAng Sunday. “I feel sorry for disappointing people who have their own expectations of the DP.”

Last week, the DP made an agreement with the ruling Grand National Party to ratify the FTA, but hours before the vote, Sohn walked away from the agreement, saying that not enough protection had been afforded to farmer and the retail industry. Two supplementary bills to protect farmers and retailers got dropped in the process.

FTA with EU to help ease S. Korean inflation: report [English: OYS]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2011/05/09/0200000000AEN20110509001600320.HTML

SEOUL, May 9 (Yonhap) -- A free trade deal with the European Union is expected to help ease inflationary pressure in South Korea by lowering import prices of agricultural and fishery products and other food materials, the finance ministry said Monday.

South Korea's parliament on Wednesday approved the free trade agreement (FTA) signed in October last year and slated to take effect in July. In February, the European Parliament ratified the accord calling for eliminating or phasing out tariffs on 96 percent of EU goods and 99 percent of South Korean goods within three years after its implementation.

Ratification of FTA with US  [English: MGF]

 http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?bicode=080000&biid=2011050680478

The ratification bill for the Korea-European Union free trade agreement passed the main session of the Korean National Assembly Thursday, and thus the deal will take effect from July 1. With the effectuation of the accord with the EU, which accounts for 30 percent of the global economy, Korea will see its gross domestic project increase approximately 8 trillion won (7.4 billion U.S. dollars) and secure 250,000 additional jobs over the next 10 years, according to think tanks. Prices of European imports will decline to benefit consumers, and this in turn will effectively lower consumer prices. The expansion of free trade with not only the EU but also other economic powers such as the U.S. and India is also essential for Korea, which is seeking to reduce trade dependence on China.

Of the eight free trade deals Korea has signed with 45 countries, six involving 43 nations have taken effect. Agreements with the U.S. and Peru have yet to win parliamentary ratification. The Obama administration will begin practical negotiations with Congress, meaning Washington will step up its bid to secure ratification, which has been delayed for nearly four years since the agreement was reached. For Korea and the U.S. to generate win-win effects in economy and national security, they cannot afford to delay ratification any longer. To generate a win-win situation early, the Korean parliament should also expedite ratification.

Exporters Not Fully Prepared to Benefit from EU FTA [English: MGF]

http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_Ec_detail.htm?No=81436&id=Ec

South Korean exporters have been found not to be fully prepared for the effectuation of the free trade agreement with the European Union on July first. The Korea Customs Service says that more than 43-hundred firms need to acquire place of origin export verification to receive tariff exemptions but less than 20 percent have received the designation so far.

S.Korea-EU FTA to Help Stabilize Product Prices [English: MGF]

http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_Ec_detail.htm?lang=e&id=Ec&No=81411&current_page=

The government is predicting that the free trade agreement between South Korea and the EU will help stabilize product prices when it goes into effect in July.  The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said in a report that the trade pact, which was approved by the National assembly last Wednesday, will reduce tariffs on products imported from Europe. As a result, the prices of imported goods are expected to go down and ease the burden on South Korean consumers.

How will free trade deal with EU affect Korea`s farmers?  [English: MGF]

http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2011050679498

The National Assembly has ratified the free trade agreement with the European Union, which will allow the deal to take effect in July.  The government expects the pact to boost exports of Korean cars and electronics to the EU, eventually raising GDP up to 5.6 percentage points and creating an annual average of 360 million U.S. dollars in trade surplus.  But the Korean agriculture and livestock industries are expected to suffer more than 90 percent of the country`s losses from the deal. Losses of 2.2 trillion won (2 billion dollars) over the next 15 years are predicted for the two sectors, with livestock alone accounting for 2 trillion won (1.8 billion dollars), according to government analysis.

Domestic farming and livestock will also suffer from free trade deals with other countries. The pending agreement with the U.S. will incur far more losses after taking effect, with an estimated 10 trillion won (9.3 billion dollars) in losses in farming expected and livestock accounting for 7 trillion won (6.5 billion dollars).

4. GRAIN & OILSEED ISSUES

http://www.nongmin.com/article/ar_detail.htm?ar_id=187116&subMenu=articletotal

Korean government decided to release 230,000 MT of paddy rice from the government-held rice stock to stabilize rice farm gate price that has been bullish in recent months.  Of them, 200,000 MT is 2009 crop and the remainder under 2010 crop. (Korean: CSC)

http://www.nongmin.com/article/ar_detail.htm?ar_id=187152&subMenu=articletotal

aT opened its grain trading arm in Chicago (Korean: CSC)

8. OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES

Korean milk products safe to drink: dairy association [English: OYS]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2011/05/09/0200000000AEN20110509005300320.HTML

SEOUL, May 9 (Yonhap) -- Milk products made by four South Korean dairy companies are safe to drink because traces of formaldehyde found in them pose no health threat to consumers, a local trade association said Monday.

The claim follows last week's similar verdict by the country's veterinary quarantine service that traces of the bactericide detected in milk products of the companies -- Maeil Dairies Co., Seoul Milk, Namyang Dairy Products Co. and Dongwon Dairy Foods -- are all within "natural limits" set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and safe to consume.

Food bad at a restaurant? TV may be to blame [English: OYS]

One Korean documentary, “The True-Taste Show,” is stirring controversy after it revealed how successful restaurants are created by brokers, broadcasting stations and restaurant owners. [JoongAng Ilbo]

The 12^th Jeongju International Film Festival came to an end on Friday with one sure winner : a documentary that blows this lid off the cozy ties between restaurants and television show.  Directed by Kim Jae-hwan, a former MBC producer, the 70-minute film entitled “The true-Taste Show” reveals the ugly truth of how famous restaurants get featured on foodie shows on national TV.  The documentary starts with a grabby line: “I know why some famous restaurants offer terrible food.” In order to make the documentary, Kim opened a small restaurant of his own in Ilsan, Gyeonggi, and recorded this attempt to get featured on television shows.

YM Lee, ‘The Best Sommelier in Korea’ [Korean: OSY]

http://media.daum.net/culture/weather/view.html?cateid=1003&newsid=20110508123603597&fid=20110508125714987&lid=20110508123603597

Yong-Moon Lee, a sommelier working in Pierr Garnier Seoul (located in Lotte Hotel Seoul), won the Korean Sommelier Championship held on May 7 by the International Sommelier Association.  Mr. Lee will participate in the upcoming international sommelier competitions in 2012 as the representative of Korean sommeliers.

MIFAFF undermining organic certification program by introducing equivalency [Korean, CSA]

http://www.naeil.com/News/economy/ViewNews.asp?nnum=604637&sid=E&tid=4

Summary) Organic farmers are strongly opposing creation of an equivalency provision in the new draft organic Act.  By recognizing equivalency of foreign country’s organic certification program, organic products from the recognized country will enter Korea without any Korean certification.   Farmers groups are concerned about an one-side equivalency recognition as Korea accepts imported organic products under the equivalency program while Korean organic certification is not recognized by foreign countries.  MIFAFF official said that they would try their best to achieve two goals; 1)  how to make Korean consumers are confident with products with foreign certification and 2) how to make a mutual equivalency recognition with foreign trading partners.

MIFAFF are more concerned with trade issues than consumers [Korean, CSA]

http://www.naeil.com/News/economy/ViewNews.asp?nnum=604635&sid=E&tid=4

Summary) MIFAFF delayed the implementation of organic certification three times due to concerns raised by the United States, EU, and Australia.  The United States requested delay of the implementation,  equivalency recognition, and recognition of adventitious presence of biotech components in organic products through a DVC on Aug 28, 2009.