Opposition vows to block FTA unless beef deal reconsidered

SEOUL, May 12, 2008 (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX) -- -- South Korean opposition parties vowed Sunday to refuse to endorse a free trade deal between Seoul and Washington unless a recent beef deal between the two sides is reworked to address fears of mad cow disease.

The effort, led by the United Democratic Party (UDP) and other minor parties, is expected to last until late May when the current parliament's four-year term expires. The next National Assembly will be dominated by the ruling Grand National Party (GNP), which secured a simple majority in the single 299-member house in the April 9 elections.

Debate has been raging in South Korea since last month when the new conservative government agreed with Washington to fully open the country's market to American beef starting Thursday.

The deal, struck ahead of President Lee Myung-bak's summit with U.S. President George W. Bush, has been denounced by tens of thousands of South Koreans at rallies across the country since early this month.

Opponents argue Lee, who took power in February, overlooked fears of mad cow disease as he tried to prod the U.S. Congress to ratify the free trade agreement (FTA), which requires approval by both legislatures to take effect. Lee and his ruling party deny the claim.

The FTA, signed under then President Roh Moo-hyun in June last year, does not formally stipulate beef imports as a precondition to ratification, but U.S. legislators and government officials have called on South Korea to resume importing U.S. beef for progress on the free trade issue.

"If we move to approve the FTA now, we will then be left with no leverage to push for the renegotiation of the beef deal," Kim Hyo-seuk, a UDP lawmaker, told a parliamentary meeting on trade.

"The GNP appears to be trying to do nothing for the renegotiation until the next parliamentary term. But we can't let that happen," Choi Jae-sung, another UDP member, said.

The National Assembly will hold a two-day hearing on the beef deal starting Tuesday, questioning dozens of government officials including Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and Agriculture Minister Chung Woon-chun.

The GNP slammed the UDP and other opposition parties for vowing to block the approval of the FTA, maintaining that the government's beef deal with Washington sufficiently guarantees public health.

Seoul halted imports of U.S. beef in late 2003 after Washington confirmed its first domestic case of mad cow disease. South Korea reopened its market in April 2007 but again halted the imports in October after U.S. exporters violated regulations on shipments of bone-in-beef products.

Bones are a specified risk material along with the distal ileum, a part of the small intestine, and tonsils, according to experts. They are believed to pose the greatest risk of transmitting mad cow disease to humans.

But the latest agreement to resume imports lifted almost all restrictions, including the age of butchered cattle and the parts that can be imported.

The Seoul-Washington FTA has been billed as the most significant event in the two sides' relations since they signed a military accord in 1953. It is expected to boost two-way trade -- already worth US$79 billion a year -- by $20 billion in coming years, government officials say.

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