1. BILATERAL/MULTILATERAL ISSUES

“Prove Your KORUS FTA Country of Origin”, The U.S. Demands COO Audits to 60 Korean Exporters … Thousands of Ingredient Material Suppliers Affiliated with the Exporters Face Tough Job to Provide Supporting Documents [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2013062529491

Summary: It is reported that the U.S. Customs Office has recently demanded Country of Origin (COO) audits (Form 28) to over 60 Korean companies that exported products to the U.S. under preferential duty treatments of KORUS FTA.  As a result, thousands of local companies that supplied ingredient materials and parts to the exporting companies are tasked to provide supporting COO evidences and documents.  However, many of the local companies are reportedly not prepared for the task.  To help out the companies, Korea Int’l Trade Association (KITA) has launched a free consultation service team earlier this week.

2. MARKETING ISSUES

Korea Tops in the World for Smart Phone User Ratio [Korean, OSY]

http://news.kukinews.com/article/view.asp?page=1&gCode=kmi&arcid=0007310718&cp=nv

Summary: According to Strategy Analytics(SA), a U.S. market research firm, Korea showed the highest ratio of smart phone users in the world in 2012.  According to the report, 67.7 percent of Korean were smart phone users, followed by Norway (55.0 percent) and Hong Kong (54.9 percent).  SA forecast that Korea would remain the world number one in smart phone user ratio in 2013.