Constitutional court rejects beef import protest petition

SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Yonhap) -- Despite the fierce nationwide opposition it fueled for
months, the South Korean government's decision to resume U.S. beef imports and
the notification process in a state gazette were not in violation of the law, the
Constitutional Court ruled Friday.
The court said that it rejected a petition, signed in record number by some
96,000 people, filed in May that raised questions about the legitimacy of the
decision and its process.
South Korea was the third-largest importer of U.S. beef, after Japan and Mexico,
until a blanket ban was imposed in 2003 following the discovery of a case of mad
cow disease in the U.S. state of Washington.
After rounds of negotiations, Seoul agreed in April to resume U.S. beef imports
along with an additional protocol restricting imports to beef from cattle younger
than 30 months. But fears over the brain-wasting illness stirred thousands of
South Koreans to take to the streets daily for months on end throughout the
summer, demanding the deal be renegotiated.
Proponents of the petition claimed that the age limit is only an addendum to the
original agreement, under which Seoul cannot suspend U.S. beef imports if the
U.S. discovers a case of mad cow disease unless the World Organization for Animal
Health (OIE) directs it.
Opponents have also pointed out that the extra measures impose only a "voluntary"
restriction on U.S. exporters, not a U.S. government-enforced one.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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