Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylies99]

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2897816

Big outlets to begin selling U.S. beef

November 26, 2008
Korea�s leading discount stores Lotte Mart, E-Mart and Homeplus will resume sales of U.S. beef starting Thursday, according to the Korea Chainstores Association.

�Retailers no longer saw a reason to deny customers the choice to buy inexpensive U.S. beef as the real economy is suffering and commodity prices are going up,� said the association in an official statement yesterday.

The three discounters stopped selling U.S. beef after October of last year after bone fragments were found in some U.S. beef cuts. Although the Korean government resumed U.S. beef imports earlier this year, the companies have not resumed selling the beef because of concerns that public sentiment about U.S. beef is still hostile. �We stopped selling U.S. beef last year, when bone fragments were found. However, because we had already imported in bulk, small portions were sold until early this year,� said Kim Yun-sup, a manager at E-Mart.

U.S. beef in the three retailers is expected to sell in a similar range as pork belly, or samgyeopsal. �We estimate that LA galbi will be sold at around 1,700 won [$1.13] and chuck eye for 1,400 to 1,500 won per 100 grams in Lotte Mart,� said Na Geun-tae, a manager at Lotte Mart. Lotte Mart�s samgyeopsal goes for 1,880 won while their Australian chuck eye sells for 2,350 won per 100 grams. Until now, the amount of U.S. beef that passed quarantine was much higher than the amount that passed through customs, which means that Korean importers were warehousing American beef. Until October, around 36,000 tons of U.S. beef had passed quarantine here although only 7,541 tons passed customs. The Korea Meat Import Association estimates that after the three discounters resume U.S. beef sales, U.S. beef consumption will quickly increase by around 20 percent.


By Cho Jae-eun Staff Reporter [[email protected]]

[wylies99]

Expect a big rush this weekend.

[caniff]

[Ruraljuror]

Cheers fellow Americans! Our plan took longer than expected, but it has finally come to fruition. Now we can poison the children of this country with our Mad-Cow infected beef!

And we can eat as much of it as we want, since we (Princess Bride Style) long ago built up an immunity to Mad Cow. Now that we are able to kill our costumers, just think of how much money we can make! Truly a great day to be an American.

[Soccerstar]

HIP HIP HOORAY!
THREE CHEERS FOR WYLIES99 AND YOU OTHERS INVOLVED IN PUSHING DISCOUNT US BEEF!

Just yesterday I went into Homeplus and asked the butchers for the 50th time if the beef was American. Maybe it all finally paid off.
I wish I could have been buying hundreds of $$ of US beef to help contribute to making it the #1 imported beef

[Soccerstar]

How much longer until US beef puts all Korean beef farmers out of business? In my opinion cows are not meant to spend their lives confined in a tiny shed fed with grains and hormones.
I'm a free-range advocate for all animals. Chickens, beef, goats, etc. I know not all US beef is raised on the open fields, but at least back home the majority graze on natural grass.
It really does make a difference how animals are raised.

[cangel]

You know this is just going to cause another huge scandal. What's going to happen is retailers will sell American beef as Korean beef at a premium price. When this 'error' is brought to light, they'll deny, deny, deny, saying it was just an error. Pessimistic, I know.

[bangbayed]

[wylies99]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/8077232/print

Major S.Korea retailers to resume U.S. beef salesReuters, Tuesday November 25 2008

SEOUL, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Major South Korean retailers said on Tuesday that they would resume sales of U.S. beef which were suspended five years ago due to fears about mad cow disease.
U.S. beef returned to South Korea earlier this year but was only sold at small stores and not at major supermarkets. The country's top three discount store chains -- Lotte Mart, E-Mart and Home Plus, which is owned by Britain's Tesco -- said they would resume sales of U.S. beef from Thursday.
South Korea banned imports of U.S. beef in late 2003 because of an outbreak of mad cow disease. Before then, it had imported about 199,000 tonnes, or $850 million worth, of the product a year, accounting for two-thirds of South Korea's beef imports.
U.S. lawmakers have said a separate, sweeping bilateral free trade deal may have trouble making its way through Congress unless South Korea fully opened its market to U.S. beef.
The deal, which has yet to be approved by legislatures in either country, is facing further difficulties with U.S. President-elect Barack Obama saying it should be renegotiated because the agreement's auto provisions favour South Korean carmakers too much.
The agreement to allow in U.S. beef sparked street protests and caused a crisis for South Korean President Lee Myung-bak earlier this year, with several thousand turning out in central Seoul.
The disputes over safety eased after the two countries reached a private-sector deal in June to restrict trade in U.S. beef to cattle under 30 months old and to forbid exports of parts that are thought to pose a higher risk of mad cow disease. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz, Miyoung Kim and Kim Yeon-hee; Editing by Nick Macfie) Printable version

[Soccerstar]

So apparently today's the day. Cool how this coincides with Thanksgiving.

[wylies99]

It also coincides with "Korea had better not piss off Obama because he wants any excuse to block the FTA that benefits Korea because why spend money to bailout the US auto industry while also giving Korean cars breaks on US tariffs while Koreans block US car sales in Korea" day.

Should I pick up a pumpkin pie at Costco to celebrate?

[Soccerstar]

[Xuanzang]

[Arthur Dent]

I just came from Homever. They had the beef. But why buy frozen beef when you can buy fresh? Good for families I suppose. And I understand that most US beef is corn fed. For those in the know, correct me here if I am wrong. Not my idea of tasty meat.

I know that Korean beef is not necessarily better in that respect (feed content) after reading an article by Kim Seong-kon earlier this year during the protests. And what makes Korean beef so expensive? Other aspects as well of course, but a large portion is the middleman. Anyone surprised?

They had thinly sliced steaks much like the Korean style. Looked cheap though. Large packs. Didn't see anyone buying at the time. Several people did buy Korean steaks marked down.

[Captain Corea]

I was at Costco hoping to buy some yesterday - no luck. Only hanwoo and Aussie.