1. BILATERAL/MULTILATERAL ISSUES

Seoul should heed fallout from U.S. FTA: minister nominee [English, OYS]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2011/05/11/0200000000AEN20110511005200320.HTML

SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea should pay more attention to reducing the fallout from its free trade deal with the U.S. since it is linked to national interest, Seoul's farm minister nominee said Wednesday.

Suh Kyu-yong, who was tapped to be the next farm minister late last week, said efforts must be made to carefully gauge the impact to the local agriculture and livestock sectors before lawmakers are asked to ratify the free trade agreement (FTA) signed in 2007.

2. ECONOMIC ISSUES

S. Korea's jobless rate inches down to 3.7 pct in April [English, OYS]

SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's jobless rate inched down in April from a year earlier as the private sector continued to expand recruitment, fueled by strong exports, a government report showed Wednesday.

S. Korea's producer price up 6.8 pct in April [English, OYS]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2011/05/09/0200000000AEN20110509006600320.HTML

SEOUL, May 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's producer prices continued to climb in April on high energy prices but their growth cooled after hitting a 28-month high in March, the central bank said Wednesday.

The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, rose 6.8 percent in April from a year earlier, compared with a 7.3 percent jump a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

3. LIVESTOCK ISSUES

Korean pork prices highest among OECD members [Korean: BYK]

http://news.naver.com/main/hotissue/read.nhn?mid=hot&sid1=101&cid=646665&iid=283846&oid=003&aid=0003848220&ptype=011

Summary: According to a study conducted by the Hyundai Economic Research Institute, Korean pork price was the highest among all OECD member countries.  Pork prices were tripe the average pork prices in G7 countries and chicken prices were 1.7 times higher than the average.

4. OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES

U.S. says images would inflame anti-U.S. sentiment, incite violence[English, OYS]
http://www.koreaherald.com/business/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110505000179

The free trade agreement with the European Union, ratified by South Korea’s National Assembly on Wednesday after months of rickety proceedings, was widely expected to benefit the local manfuacturing sector, according to local business sources.

“Most manufacturing industries including automobiles, machinery, electronics, fabric and petrochemicals are expected to see exports to the EU rise through the Korea-EU FTA,” the Korea International Trade Association said.

With the tariff on automobiles ― up to 10 percent depending on engine displacement ― set to be removed within five years and that on auto parts removed immediately after the pact’s implementation, industry watchers here project auto exports to rise by as much as 1.5 trillion won on an annual basis.

The local trade agency projects that manufacturers of electronics, fabrics and petrochemical products will also be able to gain an advantage over Japanese and Chinese rivals in the European market.