Around this time in 2008, officials in Seoul struggled for
weeks to explain to angry protesters that their agreement with the U.S. to
resume imports of American beef would not put them at risk of mad cow disease.
Four years later, with the U.S. having reported a new case of the brain-damaging disease in one of its cattle, they face increasing calls to prove that they did not lie and to take immediate safeguard actions.
The government is struggling to handle the politically sensitive issue differently this time -- in a more confident and transparent way and in view of a balance between its trade ties with the U.S. and the need to relieve public health concerns.
Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik on Friday vowed transparency in the government’s response, be it an import ban or not, apparently mindful of the public criticism from four years ago.
“The government will release related information in a swift and accurate manner,” he said.
“Any government measure will be based on scientific and reasonable grounds,” he said.
The Korean government did not ban imports of U.S. beef, despite the discovery Tuesday of the deadly disease in one dead cow in California, citing the U.S. explanation that the infected animal was a dairy cow that would have never gotten into the food chain.
It has, however, strengthened quarantine inspections and decided to dispatch a team of inspectors to the U.S.
Two major supermarket chains decided to pull all American beef from its shelves, although one of them later reversed the decision.
Korea is the world’s fourth-largest buyer of U.S. beef, buying 107,000 tons of the meat, worth $563 million, in 2011.
Other top importers of American beef -- Mexico, Canada, Japan and the European Union -- are also still buying, while Indonesia has stopped.
Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is fatal to cows and can cause a deadly brain disease in humans who eat tainted beef.
U.S. authorities said the infected California cow had what scientists call an atypical case of BSE, meaning that a random mutation in the animal rather than infected cattle feed was the cause.
Korea’s political parties and civic groups, however, urged the immediate halt of imports, calling on the government to honor its pledge in 2008.
The ruling Saenuri Party, apparently mindful of the presidential election at the end of the year, said the government must first halt imports until safety is ensured.
“The government must not give any impression that it puts trade relations with the U.S. before public health,” said Rep. Park Geun-hye, the party’s chief and strongest presidential candidate.
The government should stop quarantine inspections on the imported meat while it is unsure of its safety, she said.
The governing party pointed out that the government had promised such an action in 2008, amid a wave of anti-government rallies sparked by its agreement to reopen the Korean market to U.S. beef. Seoul banned imports in 2003 after the first U.S. case of mad cow disease was reported.
To soothe public fears over mad cow disease, the government ran advertisements in major newspapers, saying that it would immediately ban imports in the event of a new mad cow outbreak in the U.S.
Liberal opposition parties opened a new line of attack on President Lee Myung-bak, saying the government’s “inaction” is another reason not to vote in another conservative president in December.
“Once again, we are in an unfortunate situation where we have to worry about the food we eat,” said Moon Seung-keun, leader of the largest opposition Democratic United Party, accusing the government of endangering public health for the sake of its ties with the U.S.
By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldm.com)
Four years later, with the U.S. having reported a new case of the brain-damaging disease in one of its cattle, they face increasing calls to prove that they did not lie and to take immediate safeguard actions.
The government is struggling to handle the politically sensitive issue differently this time -- in a more confident and transparent way and in view of a balance between its trade ties with the U.S. and the need to relieve public health concerns.
 |
| American beef is displayed on shelves at a grocery store in Seoul. (Kim Myung-sub/The Korea Herald) |
Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik on Friday vowed transparency in the government’s response, be it an import ban or not, apparently mindful of the public criticism from four years ago.
“The government will release related information in a swift and accurate manner,” he said.
“Any government measure will be based on scientific and reasonable grounds,” he said.
The Korean government did not ban imports of U.S. beef, despite the discovery Tuesday of the deadly disease in one dead cow in California, citing the U.S. explanation that the infected animal was a dairy cow that would have never gotten into the food chain.
It has, however, strengthened quarantine inspections and decided to dispatch a team of inspectors to the U.S.
Two major supermarket chains decided to pull all American beef from its shelves, although one of them later reversed the decision.
Korea is the world’s fourth-largest buyer of U.S. beef, buying 107,000 tons of the meat, worth $563 million, in 2011.
Other top importers of American beef -- Mexico, Canada, Japan and the European Union -- are also still buying, while Indonesia has stopped.
Mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is fatal to cows and can cause a deadly brain disease in humans who eat tainted beef.
U.S. authorities said the infected California cow had what scientists call an atypical case of BSE, meaning that a random mutation in the animal rather than infected cattle feed was the cause.
Korea’s political parties and civic groups, however, urged the immediate halt of imports, calling on the government to honor its pledge in 2008.
The ruling Saenuri Party, apparently mindful of the presidential election at the end of the year, said the government must first halt imports until safety is ensured.
“The government must not give any impression that it puts trade relations with the U.S. before public health,” said Rep. Park Geun-hye, the party’s chief and strongest presidential candidate.
The government should stop quarantine inspections on the imported meat while it is unsure of its safety, she said.
The governing party pointed out that the government had promised such an action in 2008, amid a wave of anti-government rallies sparked by its agreement to reopen the Korean market to U.S. beef. Seoul banned imports in 2003 after the first U.S. case of mad cow disease was reported.
To soothe public fears over mad cow disease, the government ran advertisements in major newspapers, saying that it would immediately ban imports in the event of a new mad cow outbreak in the U.S.
Liberal opposition parties opened a new line of attack on President Lee Myung-bak, saying the government’s “inaction” is another reason not to vote in another conservative president in December.
“Once again, we are in an unfortunate situation where we have to worry about the food we eat,” said Moon Seung-keun, leader of the largest opposition Democratic United Party, accusing the government of endangering public health for the sake of its ties with the U.S.
By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldm.com)
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