DP urges gov't to shut the barn door on U.S. beef imports

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DP urges gov't to shut the barn door on U.S. beef imports

Published: 16 Jul. 2025, 17:31

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

U.S. beef is on display at a supermarket in Seoul on July 15. [YONHAP]

Seventeen years after nationwide protests over mad cow disease rocked Korea, the prospect of allowing U.S. beef from older cattle back into the country is once again stirring political backlash.

As the possibility of lifting the ban on U.S. beef from cattle older than 30 months emerges in Korea-U.S. trade and tariff talks, Democratic Party (DP) lawmakers on the National Assembly’s Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee have cited the potential impact on domestic hanwoo (Korean beef) farmers as well as food safety issues.

“The beef market is extremely sensitive, and ranchers are pushing back hard,” DP Rep. Lim Mi-ae said in an MBC radio interview Wednesday. “I personally believe we should not accept imports of beef from cattle over 30 months old.”

She added, “Currently, only cuts of meat from cattle younger than 30 months are allowed into Korea, which is why many consumers feel safe eating imported beef. But if we start importing beef from cattle over 30 months old, it will come in the form of ground or processed meat, making it impossible to know what’s in it.”

Democratic Party Rep. Lim Mi-ae speaks during a meeting on Oct. 16, 2024. [YONHAP]

Imports of U.S. beef from cattle older than 30 months have been restricted since 2008. However, with Washington set to impose reciprocal tariffs starting Aug. 1, Seoul has shifted gears and is now actively considering expanding U.S. beef imports.

The White House has flagged Seoul's restrictions on beef imports as a major nontariff barrier, pressuring Korea to open its market — a move the government appears to be weighing as a last-minute bargaining chip.

On Tuesday, DP lawmakers on the committee held a press conference at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, declaring that “agriculture must never become a sacrificial lamb in Korea-U.S. trade negotiations.”

“The government’s top priority should not be export performance, but protecting public health, food safety and national food sovereignty,” they said, referring to reported negotiation agenda items such as easing conditions for U.S. beef imports and further opening Korea’s rice market — topics previously mentioned in a U.S. trade barrier report.

The DP lawmakers reiterated their firm opposition to any expansion of U.S. beef imports.

Democratic Party lawmakers on the National Assembly’s Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee hold a press conference at the assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, to deliver their opposition on easing restrictions for U.S. beef imports on July 15. [NEWS1]

“We’ve seen ranchers repeatedly suffering losses in trade talks, and we can’t just sit back and watch the government take the same approach again,” said a senior DP lawmaker. “Korea is a major market where the U.S. beef industry runs a significant surplus, so the blow to local farmers could be severe.”

As DP lawmakers clash with the government over the negotiations, some predict that this could mark the first major rift between the party and the Lee Jae Myung administration.

“There will inevitably be a difference in views between the government, which takes a macroeconomic approach, and the committee, which represents the interests of farmers and livestock producers,” a senior DP official told the JoongAng Ilbo on Wednesday.

“I expect that during working-level talks, the National Assembly will be consulted to find alternatives,” said another DP official.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JO SU-BIN [[email protected]]