State inspectors check beef imported from the U.S. at a refrigerated warehouse in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on July 20. After the detection of mad cow disease in the U.S., the government increased the ratio of U.S. beef inspections from 3 percent to 30 percent. / Yonhap



By Park Jae-hyuk

The Korean government should suspend the import of U.S. beef by amending terms of trade, a group of experts said Wednesday.

Amid growing concern on the safety of U.S. beef after an outbreak of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), in Alabama, the experts refuted the government's argument, presenting scientific evidence at a press conference in Seoul.

"The Korean government groundlessly claims, without any epidemiological survey by the U.S. government, that an atypical case of BSE is not dangerous to humans," said Prof. Woo Hee-jong of the Seoul National University College of Veterinary Science. "The terms of trade are unfair as well."

The professor urged the Moon Jae-in administration to confidently request a renegotiation of the deal with the U.S. government if it really respects the will of the candlelit protestors who played a big role in ousting the scandal-laden former President Park Geun-hye.

"An atypical case of BSE may be more dangerous to people, as it also contaminates a cow's lean meat, not only its brain or spinal cord," said Woo Seoc-kyun, vice representative of the Center for Health and Social Change.

"Under the U.S. inspection system, the infected 11-year-old cow might have been sold to consumers, if it had not died before slaughter."

He also noted that although Taiwan added more parts of beef to its list of import bans without any agreement with the U.S. government, it did not face any challenges through the World Trade Organization.

Veterinarian Hong Ha-il said the U.S. government still allows farmers to feed cows with feed containing parts of animals if the feed does not contain specified risk materials (SRM).

Hong also doubted the U.S. government's arguments about the infected cow's age.

"The U.S. government merely estimated its age with abrasion loss of the cow's teeth," he said. "I think it wants to emphasize the cow was born before 2008, when the U.S. government began to ban animal feed made with SRM."

The veterinarian said Washington, not Seoul, should prove the safety of its cows.

Although Song Ki-ho of the Lawyers for a Democratic Society admitted that other countries have yet to prohibit U.S. beef after the latest outbreak of BSE, the experts emphasized that most of those countries are exporters of their beef, unlike Korea.

"BSE occurred in Japan, Canada and Europe as well. Such countries may find it difficult to carry out import bans on U.S. beef," said Cho Neung-hee, a director for MBC's PD Notebook, who spotlighted the issue in 2008.

"Such countries as Australia, Taiwan and China confidently exercised their rights to suspend the import of suspicious U.S. beef during previous BSE outbreaks."