1. BILATERAL/MULTILATERAL ISSUES

Senators support Obama's plans to withhold Korea FTA pending TAA [English, OYS]
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2011/05/24/0200000000AEN20110524000200315.HTML

Summary: WASHINGTON, May 23 (Yonhap) -- A group of Senate Democrats Monday threw their support behind the Obama administration's plans to withhold the pending free trade deals with South Korea, Panama and Colombia from Congress until Republicans agree to renew funding for retraining displaced workers.

"We recognize, as you do, that such a deal will be challenging to secure because it requires significant bipartisan commitments in both chambers of Congress to vote in favor of a Trade Adjustment Assistance extension," the senators said in a letter to Obama, according to Reuters. "The challenge is worth it. We agree with you that strengthening the safety net for the middle class by extending TAA should be a prerequisite for consideration of new trade agreements."

   The 41 senators are siding with National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling, who said last week, "The administration will not submit implementing legislation on the three pending free trade agreements until we have a deal with Congress on the renewal of a robust, expanded TAA program consistent with the objectives of the 2009 Trade Adjustment Assistance law."

3. ECONOMIC ISSUES

Wage hikes at major firms reach 5 percent: ministry [English, OYS]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2011/05/23/0200000000AEN20110523002000315.HTML

Summary: SEOUL, May 23 (Yonhap) -- Wage hikes agreed upon at domestic private and public enterprises this year averaged 5 percent as of April, up 0.4 percentage points from the same period of last year, the labor ministry said Monday.

According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, 843 companies with over 100 employees that concluded wage deals by April called for a 5 percent raise in salary for this year, up from last year's 4.6 percent.

Inflation Likely to Top 4% Amid Soaring Oil Prices[English, OYS]

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/05/23/2011052300973.html

Summary: A state-run think tank has bumped up its projection for inflation this year by almost one percentage point to surpass 4 percent.

In a report released Sunday, the Korea Development Institute projected the year's inflation to record 4.1 percent, 0.9 percentage points higher than the initial outlook from last year.

This is due to a rise in global crude oil prices, which in turn affects domestic prices of products and service as the nation depends heavily on energy imports.

Meanwhile, the KDI kept its growth outlook for the country unchanged at 4.2 percent citing a higher employment rate and strong exports.

It also called for measures to closely monitor record-high household debt and loans in the non-banking sector.

4. GRAIN & OILSEED ISSUES

Summary: SEOUL, May 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's per capita annual consumption of rice is expected to decline to record-low levels this year as more people are choosing other foods for their daily meals, a state-run think tank said Sunday.

The Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI) said an average South Korean could eat 195.2 grams to 196.4 grams of rice per day in the 2011 food grams year that runs from November 2010 through October 2011.

4. MARKETING ISSUES

Low Income Group Consumed Less Fruits and Meat but More Alcohol Beverages during the First Half [Korean, OSY]

http://news.donga.com/Economy/Market/3/0108/20110523/37470131/1

Summary: According to the Household Expenditure statistics released by the National Statistics Office, low income group that earned less than 1 million won per month showed a significant drop in consumption of fruits and meat (15.8 and 6.7 percent respectively compared to the same period last year) during the first quarter this year.  However, consumption of alcohol beverages by the low income group increased 15 percent.