FAS/Seoul Monitoring of Media Reporting on Agricultural Issues

Today's Date: Friday October 31, 2014

For Coverage: October 01 ~ 31, 2014

1. BILATERAL/MULTILATERAL ISSUES

Top envoy has a warm welcome [English, HYD]

http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/Article.aspx?aid=2996705

Mark Lippert, the new U.S. ambassador to Korea, vowed yesterday upon his arrival here to ensure that his country remains fully aligned in its efforts to achieve the “complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea and prevent the proliferation of key technology.”  “I will work to strengthen our critical military alliance, expand our economic and trade relationship and ensure that our alliance continues to tackle global challenges from counter terrorism and counter piracy to climate change and development,” he said in a press conference that was followed by a brief question-and-answer session.

Korea-China FTA talks end with little progress [English, HYD]

http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2995388

Korea and China yesterday ended their free trade pact negotiating session after making almost no progress, leaving little hope that the two presidents will realize their goal of completing the deal before the end of this year.  The discord revolves around which products the two countries can list as “supersensitive,” a status that would exempt those items from the rules of free trade.  In previous discussions, Korea has insisted that its agricultural products be considered supersensitive to protect local food against cheap Chinese imports, while China wants to guard its petrochemical and heavy industry products from Korean-made versions.  However, the two countries did make some progress.  Korea succeeded in persuading China to meet sanitary standards and comply with international technology and intellectual property laws.

2. ECONOMIC ISSUES

In Korea, e-commerce exports continue to lag [English, HYD]

http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2996463

For an economy built on exports and tech-savvy giants like Samsung Electronics, Korea’s widening trade deficit in e-commerce is a sore point that has caught the government’s attention.  While the nation boasts Internet connection speeds that put the United States to shame, and broadband reaches more deeply than in any other country, outdated security protocols on Korean websites crimp online sales to customers abroad. The deficit has grown threefold since 2010 as Amazon makes inroads from Seoul to Busan, and local retailers and manufacturers fail to reach overseas markets on the web.  The country’s biggest opportunity may be next door in China, where K-pop idols and soap opera stars carry Korean consumer brands into a market that’s expected to have 850 million people online by next year.

Financial industry fails to reach its potential [English, HYD]

http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2996291

Although Korea became the world’s 14th-largest economy due to rapid growth of the IT and traditional manufacturing industries, there is a widespread view that the country’s financial industry remains relatively undeveloped.  In its annual report on the competitiveness of 144 countries in various areas, the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked Korea 80th this year in terms of financial market maturity compared to its potential - far behind some developing countries like Ghana, Cambodia and Colombia.  The WEF measures financial industry maturity by such metrics as availability of venture capital, capital finance through the stock market, cost of financial services, accessibility to loans and fiscal soundness of banks.

3. MARKETING ISSUES

E Mart Reports Good Sales of Imported Craft Beers [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2014102628251

Summary: E Mart, the leading grocery hypermarket store chain in Korea, reported that premium craft beers that it imported directly from the United States in October were making strong sales.  E Mart direct imported a total of 25,000 bottles of three different craft beers (Dog Fish Head, Sierra Nevada, Firestone) for the first time earlier this month and 4,000 bottles of the first shipment had been sold within 10 days since the launching in select stores on October 16.  E Mart added that some consumers in regional markets where the local E Mart stores do not carry the craft beers are even making long distance trips to other E Mart stores where the beers are offered.  E Mart said that the fact that the craft beers are making early success despite the high price (a bottle is retailed around or over $10 in the store) indicates that there is a strong consumer demand for high quality, premium beer in Korea.

MFDA Orders Recall on 1,900 Tons of Imported Bananas as Tests Find High Amount of Agricultural Chemical over Safety Limit [Korean, OSY]

http://bizn.khan.co.kr/khan_art_view.html?artid=201410271706381&code=920401&med=khan

Summary: Korea Ministry of Food & Drug Administration (MFDA) announced a mandatory recall on 1,900 metric tons of bananas imported by nine Korean companies.  MFDA explained that its tests found high amount of 'Iprodion', an agricultural chemical, exceeding the safety limit in the bananas.  MFDA added that the residue of the chemical found in the test was as much as 99 times higher than the safety limit.

Lotte World Mall, The Largest Retail Facility in Korea has Opened [Korean, OSY]

http://www.newsis.com/pict_detail/view.html?pict_id=NISI20141014_0010242128

Summary: Lotte World Mall, owned and operated by Lotte Group, has opened on October 14 in Gangnam district, Seoul.  It is the largest retail facility ever built in Korea with almost 400,000 sq. meter of in-door shopping space.  According to Lotte, the mall mainly targets premium segment of the local consumers as indicated by the fact that it houses the largest retail space for luxury brands as well as duty free shops in Korea.

http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2996639

Customers line up at Garrett Popcorn Shop, a Chicago tradition, after it opened yesterday at Lotte World Mall in Jamsil, southeastern Seoul. The new branch is the company’s second store in Korea.

Microbrewery festival to introduce 100 beers [English, HYD]

http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2996368

Local microbreweries will introduce hidden gems to ale lovers at the two-day “Great Korean Beer Festival” that starts tomorrow. Visitors can choose from all sorts of beers to suit their tastes, such as some brewed with locally grown fruits. 
Around 100 different types of beer will be on offer at the festival held at the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan, central Seoul.