Speculation of gov't weighing U.S. beef import ban unfounded:Cheong Wa Dae

Speculation that the South Korean government is considering a move to halt U.S. beef imports is unfounded since there is no risk to public health, a senior aide to the president said Saturday.

Senior press secretary Choe Geum-nak said media reports that the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae is reviewing the possibility of halting imports are not true.

The comments came as some media outlets reported policymakers are seriously considering a move to halt quarantine inspections tantamount to an import ban due to growing public health concerns.

Seoul has said it will provide up-to-date information on the latest mad cow case to the general public, with the farm ministry taking steps to inspect half of all U.S. beef shipments to make certain they meet import requirements. In the past, only 3 percent of all shipments were checked in accordance with international practices.

"The government places great importance on protecting the health of the people, but all data so far shows there are no risks," Choe said. He stressed that if new information emerges that changes this perception, Seoul will take swift and immediate action.

The comments came after the country's farm minister said Friday that U.S. beef imports will not be affected by the latest discovery of a bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in California. The latest discovery is the fourth detected in the United States. BSE is the official name for brain-wasting mad cow disease that can be transmitted to humans and cause the fatal variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Authorities said the cow had contracted a very rare "atypical" form of the brain-wasting disease and pointed out that the animal was a dairy cow over 10 years old. The rare type of disease is not caused by an animal eating protein-based feed that is considered the main cause of animals coming down with BSE.

Seoul had initially banned U.S. beef imports in late 2003 after the first case was reported, but fully reopened the market in 2008 after long-drawn negotiations with Washington.

Government officials said since Seoul only imports beef from cattle under 30 months old, there is no risk that the meat of such animals could reach South Korea. The country also does not import meat from dairy cows.

Despite such assurances, both the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party called on the government to prevent U.S. beef from reaching consumers.

(Yohap News)