President Cabinet Meeting Approves Additional Agreements of KORUS FTA [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/politics/2011/02/07/0501000000AKR20110

Summary: ROKG cabinet meeting on Feb. 8 approved the results of additional FTA negotiation with the U.S.  In the additional negotiation held in December 2010, the two countries exchanged adjustment on existing agreement for pork meat and auto-industry issues.

 

S. Korea's parliament in no hurry for FTA with U.S.: lawmaker [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2011/02/08/47/030100

Summary: South Korea's National Assembly will not rush to handle the free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, tying the move with a relevant process in the U.S. Congress, a ruling party lawmaker said Tuesday.   "(We) will deal with the FTAs with the U.S. and the European Union separately," Nam Kyung-pil of the Grand National Party (GNP), who heads the National Assembly standing committee on foreign affairs and trade, told Yonhap News Agency in a phone interview.

 

Cabinet OKs supplementary U.S. FTA [English: BYK]

http://www.koreaherald.com/business/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110208000599

Summary: The Cabinet on Tuesday endorsed a supplementary agreement to the free trade deal concluded between Korea and the United States, a government spokesman said.  In December, the two countries came to a final consensus on the bilateral free trade agreement after revising terms on issues such as auto tariffs and pork, paving the way for the parliamentary ratification of a pact that was originally signed about four years ago. The result of the supplementary deal will be articulated in the accord through a form of “exchange of letters,” not revising the text.  The main and the supplementary agreements need to get parliamentary ratification before both countries can enforce them.

 

EU Parliamentary panel endorses Korea EU FTA [English: BYK]

http://www.koreaherald.com/common/redirect.jsp?category_id=0202

Summary: BRUSSELS (AFP) ― A key European parliament committee endorsed Monday a major free trade deal with Korea after securing safeguards to protect Europe’s auto makers.  The International Trade Committee voted overwhelmingly, 21-4, to send the deal, hailed as the most ambitious free trade pact ever negotiated by the European Union, to the full parliament for a final vote.  Doubling EU trade with Korea, the deal will eliminate 98 percent of import duties and other trade barriers in manufactured goods, agricultural products and services within the next five years.  The full EU parliament is expected to vote on the agreement next week.

 

U.S. Congress likely to vote on KORUS FTA in May [Korean: BYK]

http://www.seoul.co.kr/news/newsView.php?id=20110201005010

Summary: According to Inside U.S. Trade, the Obama administration is expected to send the KORUS FTA package to the Congress at the end of March or April and the actual vote within the Congress is expected to take place sometime in May.

 

2. ECONOMIC ISSUES

 

[Analysis] Why are food prices in Korea soaring?  [English, CSY]

http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?bicode=020000&biid=2011

Summary: A low food self-sufficiency rate and poor distribution structure are fueling food inflation in Korea.  Emerging economies have suffered from steep consumer inflation that even caused political unrest this year, but advanced economies have seen little or no hikes in food prices. Korea is an exception, however.  In Korea, food prices including those of agricultural, processed and drink products rose 12 percent in the fourth quarter last year, second only to Turkey (12.1 percent) among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Korea`s figure is also nearly 10 times that of Japan (1.8 percent) and the Netherlands (1 percent), countries also highly dependent on imports for food consumption like Korea.  The steep increase in food prices in Korea is due to the decline in the food self-sufficiency rate and a poor structure for food imports and distribution.

 

3. LIVESTOCK ISSUES

 

Wild birds cause of avian flu: Gov’t [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931902

Summary: Migratory wild birds are mainly responsible for the severest outbreak of avian influenza (AI) to hit South Korea, the government said yesterday.  Seoul confirmed its first outbreak of the virulent H5N1 strain on Dec. 31 after some poultry farms reported sudden deaths of animals earlier in the month. It has since ordered the culling of more than 5.41 million birds to stop the spread of the contagious disease.  An analysis of the 40 confirmed cases of bird flu in the country showed contact with wild birds was the primary cause of AI cases, said Joo Yi-seok, head of the Animal Disease Control Bureau at the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service.

 

In light of FMD, pigging out has its consequences [English, CSY]

[AN UNHEALTHY FOOD SUPPLY] The dark side of factory farming

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931907

Summary: In Korea, a country where factory farming is prevalent, ethical issues have been raised on the treatment of farm animals and activists have called for increased health and safety standards.  The way farmers treat their animals here has far-reaching implications for animal and human health, and the viability of the industry.  Animal rights activists, veterinarians and professors agree that low social recognition of the importance of farm-animal health and safety has made Korea vulnerable to epidemics, including FMD, which is fatal for cloven-hoofed animals like cows, pigs and deer.   The most recent outbreak of FMD started on Nov. 29 last year in Andong, North Gyeongsang, and in two months it swept through the entire nation - except South Jeolla and Jeju Island.   The central government has faced harsh domestic and international criticism for its response to the outbreak.  In December, after the government ran short of euthanasia drugs used to slaughter livestock, Seoul sent thousands of animals to their death by burying them alive.

 

Additional FMD case found in S. Korea's largest port city [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/05/25/0502000000

Summary: South Korea confirmed an additional case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in its largest port city on Monday as quarantine authorities start the second stage of its nationwide vaccination process, the government said Monday.  The case at the pig and goat farm in Busan, which raised 568 animals, brings the total number of officially confirmed FMD outbreaks to 146, after livestock started showing symptoms in late November, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said. It is also the first confirmed case in the city located 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

 

Pork Meat Menus Disappear from Restaurants due to High Pork Meat Price [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/02/08/0302000000AKR2011

Summary: According to aT, price of pork meat in retail stores marked W11,010 per 500 gram on Feb. 1, which was 30 percent higher than a year ago.  Many restaurants have reportedly dropped pork meat menus due to the soaring price.  For example, School Foods, a leading franchise quick service Korean restaurant reported that it dropped pork cutlet menus.

 

Extra funds considered to pay for FMD losses [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931958

Summary: The ruling Grand National Party said yesterday it will review all possible measures - including a supplementary budget - to ease the country’s damage from Korea’s worst-ever foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak.

“The disease has hit the country so hard. We will hold a meeting with the administration [tomorrow] and visit the outbreak sites to conduct an objective survey,” said Chung Ok-nim, a spokeswoman for the GNP, shortly after the ruling party’s meeting to come up with a comprehensive measure. “We will actively push forward plans to raise funds required to resolve associated problems.”  Chung also quoted GNP floor leader Kim Moo-sung as saying: “If necessary, we will think about creating a supplementary budget. To have specific countermeasures to fight the disease, financial resources are needed, and we will review all possibilities to meet the need.”

 

Regulation: livestock permit system is a necessary vice [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931965

Summary: The livestock permit system has long been used in Denmark and the Netherlands, the forerunners of the livestock industry. But small-scale farmers are strongly opposed to the new regulation. To stop the shameful cycle of burying millions of livestock alive and restore the country’s “FMD free” status as soon as possible, extraordinary measures are needed.   Otherwise, our meat market will be flooded with imports. Neighboring China is the largest pig breeder in the world with a total of 460 million heads. Our refrigerators are already filled with meat imports from the United States and Australia. If we don’t take action now, we may have to give up the sweet, sweet taste of Korean beef and pork.

 

U.S. Congress fully supports KORUS FTA – Will continue to raise the beef issue”[Korean: BYK]

http://www.seoul.co.kr/news/newsView.php?id=20110209005008

Summary: In an interview with the Seoul Newspaper at USTR, Wendy Cutler explained that the U.S. administration was putting in a lot of efforts to get the KORUS FTA ratified by the U.S. Congress.  In her answer to the question whether the beef issue could come up again during the process of discussing the KORUS FTA with the Congress, she replied that the United States will continue to raise the concern within the United States over the issue of U.S. beef access to the Korean consumers.  When asked if that meant that the U.S. would be asking Korea for a full liberalization of the beef market, she replied that she didn’t have anything further to state about the beef issue other than what she had explained earlier.

 

Japan partially suspends U.S. beef imports [Korean: BYK]

http://mbn.mk.co.kr/pages/news/newsView.php?category=mbn

Summary: Japan is partially suspending beef imports from the United States.  They received a shipment of large intestines from a plant in Nebraska which could not be verified whether they were from cattle under 20 months.

 

GNP Considers Additional Budget for FMD [Korean: BYK]

http://www.todaykorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=134585

Summary: The ruling Grand National Party and the Korean Government will meet to discuss whether there is a need to create an additional budget to cope with the ongoing FMD disaster.  They are planning to meet on February 10^th to discuss this issue.

 

Korea faces shortage in milk supply [Korean: BYK]

http://biz.heraldm.com/common/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110209000075

Summary: The milk commercials on TV and radio have recently disappeared.  This is because the milk companies have stopped airing advertisements as they are facing a shortage in milk production due to the culling of dairy cattle because of FMD.  The real challenge will be in March when kids return to school and the school milk program begins.  According to this news article, over 34,000 heads of dairy cows have been culled due to FMD.  This accounts for over 7 percent of the total dairy cow population which is around 440,000 heads.  The FMD is also affecting the supply of several pork menus in restaurants, such as pork cutlets, pork feet and Korean style pork sausages.

 

Stock Inventory of No-fat Milk Powder Drops to a 15 Year Low … Bakery and Snack Industry Are Worried [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2011013112051&sid

Summary: Stock inventory volume of no-fat milk powder has dropped to 938 tons as of year end 2010, which is the lowest level since 1995.  The sudden decline in the inventory is due to the depopulation of a large number of milk cows under the recent Foot & Mouth Disease outbreak.  Bakery and snack food industry are showing concerns on the issue.  Government has eliminated import tariff on no-fat milk powder (8,000 tons ceiling) earlier this month to stabilize the price.  However, due to the lengthy process involved in the importation of milk powder under the TRQ system, it is likely that traders will face reduced supply of milk powder and rising price for some months to come.

 

Pork prices to be voluntarily set at 6,500 won per kilogram [Korean: BYK]

http://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0102_201102010004520172

Summary: The Korea Swine Association held a press conference on behalf of the swine farmers and stated that they would set a ceiling of 6,500 won per kilogram for pork wholesale prices.  They explained that the reason for such voluntary action was due to the concern that soaring pork prices could not only hurt the lower income people but also the overall pork industry, including pork restaurants, etc.  The association will also urge farmers to slaughter the hogs at 100 kg., rather than the current average of 110 kg., to increase the supply of pork into the market place.

 

 

4. MARKETING ISSUES

 

Convenience Stores Offer Aggressive Promotions Targeting Valentine Day [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/02/08/0318000000AKR

Summary: Major convenience store chains have announced various promotional events targeting Valentine Day (February 14), which has emerged as one of the top three shopping seasons to convenience stores along with White Day (March 14) and PaePaeRo Day (Nov. 11).  Most common promotional tools announced was lottery type events that can win free trips and free gifts.

 

5. NORTH KOREA ISSUES

 

Will US resume food aid to NK? [English, CSY]

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/02/113_81017.html

Summary: The U.S. official’s remarks sparked speculation that Washington is gearing up for the resumption of food aid to North Korea, which has been halted since March 2009.  A government official told reporters that King and senior foreign ministry officials have not discussed aid for the North, saying they mainly exchanged information regarding the food situation there.   Despite the denial, the speculation that the United States could consider resuming food aid to hasn’t stopped. This comes against the backdrop of a press report that discussions about restarting donations of food to the impoverished North were underway in Washington.

 

The United States has no plan to provide DPRK with humanitarian food aid at present.  (CSC: Korean)

http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/02/06/2011020600102.html

 

6. OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES

 

Carbon credit system won’t be too rigid, says Lee [English, CSY]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2931904

Summary: President Lee Myung-bak said yesterday that a carbon-emissions trading system will be pursued flexibly, a potential sign of retreat from the centerpiece of his green growth strategy.  “We’ll fully reflect the opinions of the business community when we introduce carbon emissions trading,” Lee said in a biweekly radio address yesterday. “The government will implement the system in a flexible manner reflecting international trends and the industrial competitiveness of the country.  “There are concerns that reducing greenhouse gas emissions could place an extra burden on our economy.”  But Lee also said that the system’s introduction is inevitable. “If we have to walk the path, we’d better do it faster than others,” he said.

 

Lee suggests creation of task force on food crisis [English, CSY]

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2011/02/07/0502000000AEN

Summary: President Lee Myung-bak said Monday that South Korea needs to create a government-civilian task force to study ways for securing the stable supply of food, citing the risk of a new global food crisis attributable to climate change.  "Chances are growing that the entire world will suffer a food crisis due to climate change," Lee's spokeswoman Kim Hee-jung quoted him as saying in a weekly meeting with his senior secretaries. "We should set up a pan-governmental strategy on (the supply of) agricultural and fishery products and conduct (related) research."   Lee proposed the formation of a national organization composed of government officials and civilian experts to deal with the issue, according to the spokeswoman.

 

Environmental disaster [English, CSY]

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2011/02/137_80940.html

Summary: Korea faces one of the worst environmental disasters following the burial of more than three million pigs and cows infected with foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease. Remedial action is urgent. No action will be deadly and costly.  Environment Minister Lee Maan-ee made the grotesque warning Monday. An initial survey of the 90 selected burial sites showed that 68 percent of them may collapse. It means that nearly 70 percent of the 4,000 sites will either cave in or contaminate water sources.

 

The minister warns the economic, social, cultural and environmental damage of the haphazard burials is beyond anybody’s imagination. Koreans might face unprecedented water contamination.  Once spring comes, the frozen underground corpses may melt, and the culled animals will start to rot. This will inevitably contaminate water and farming land, and ultimately damage the people. Downpours and floods will wash away the burial mounds and the decayed animals.

 

Busan Fishery Auction Market Set a Record High Sale due to Good Catch of Squid [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/economy/2011/02/08/0318000000AKR2011

Summary: Busan Fishery Auction Market reported that the auction sales in January 2011 amounted to W55 billion (22,263 tons), a record high since 1969.  The surge of sales was mainly due to a good catch of squid from near sea water.

 

U.S. envoy implies discussing aid to North Korea [English: BYK]

http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110208000717

Summary: The U.S. and South Korea are working closely together to coordinate policies on “tricky issues,” a visiting U.S. envoy for North Korean human rights said Tuesday, indicating the allies’ ongoing discussions over whether to send food aid to the impoverished state.  Special envoy Robert King arrived here Sunday for talks with South Korea’s foreign and unification ministry officials as recent reports say Pyongyang asked Washington for assistance with food.  The U.S. has said it has no immediate plans to send aid, a position that could change as regional powers seek to resume peace talks with the nuclear-armed North Korea, analysts say. 

 

Carbon trading plan losing momentum [English: BYK]

http://www.koreaherald.com/business/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110208000882

Summary: Seoul to delay scheme in the face of business opposition:  President Lee Myung-bak’s green growth initiative faces a setback as the government is poised to postpone introducing the carbon trading system amid tough opposition from businesses.  On Monday Lee said the government plans to implement the scheme in a flexible manner, considering “international trends and industrial competitiveness.”   His remark came as business organizations voiced their opposition, warning of surging costs and damage to their competiveness. The scheme is losing steam globally with major countries delaying their own national plans.   Top policymakers will meet Wednesday to finalize their position.

 

Democratic Party states that it will normalize the operation of the National Assembly in February [Korean: BYK]

http://www.sisaseoul.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=37484

Summary: Ji Won Park, Floor Leader for the Democratic Party, stated that he would try to get the National Assembly to normalize its operation I February so that the pending bills can be addressed.  However, he made this comment under the condition that the President and the Speaker of the National Assembly need to show some kind of sincerity regarding the 2011 budget that was approved unilaterally by the ruling party in December 2010.