Today's Date:   Tuesday,  March  19, 2013

1. MARKETING ISSUES

Hypermarket Store Chains Report Strong Sales Growth of On-line Shops [Korean, OSY]

http://news.donga.com/3/all/20130318/53798364/1

Summary: E Mart’s sales through its on-line store amounted to W549 billion in 2012, up 67 percent from the previous year.  HomePlus’s sales through its on-line store amounted to W340 billion in 2012, up 44 percent from the previous year.

Sunkist Launches New Season for Navel Orange [Photo News, OSY]

http://news.donga.com/3/all/20130319/53799023/1

2. OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES

New S. Korean Government to Have ‘Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock and Food’ [Korean, OSY]

http://www.foodnews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=44076

Summary: Parties have agreed that former Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fishery and Food will be reorganized into  ‘Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock and Food’ under the new government led by President KH Park.  The congress will vote on the reorganization proposal on March 20.

“We Must Succeed in Improving the Distribution Network for Agricultural Products This Time”, President Park [Korean, OSY]

http://news.donga.com/3/all/20130314/53683278/1

Summary: President Keunhye Park visited a hypermarket store under the Korean Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives on March 13.  During the tour, she stressed the importance of improving the distribution network for agricultural products, which had been cited as a key reason for rising cost of locally produced agricultural products.  She added that development of more efficient distribution network should benefit both the producers and the consumers.

Sequestration May Cause Delays of Customs Clearance on Export Goods to the U.S. [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2013031426971

Summary: Korean Customs Office reported on March 14 that sequestration of the U.S. government is likely to cause delays in customs clearance of goods exported to the U.S.  KCS explained that a budget cut made to the U.S. Customs & Border Protection agency (CBP) under sequestration is expected to reduce work force in the U.S. customs office starting from mid April.  KCS estimated that the total time taken to clear customs for imports into the U.S. would be increased to over 5 days as a result.