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Blue House says it didn’t do enough to alleviate concern about mad cows
May 05, 2008
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With online rumors rampant and growing interest in the protests among middle school and high school students, the government and ruling party officials will meet tomorrow to discuss countermeasures, including banning beef import from areas in which an outbreak of mad cow disease occurs. Waving candles and chanting anti-government slogans in central Seoul, thousands of students protested the decision to reopen the local market to American beef, including beef with bones. They said the Lee Myung-bak administration is risking the health of the nation by allowing imports of American beef. “Just the thought of beef from cattle infected with mad cow disease being offered to school children for lunch is simply horrible,” a student at the protest said, according to a Newsis article. The students said they joined the protest on their own accord, not because of comments made by celebrities, according to Newsis. The police said yesterday they would summon people involved in the protests and take legal action, but civic groups and members of related Internet cafes said they would hold a press conference at 2 p.m. at the Press Center tomorrow and hold another protest that evening. A popular program on MBC aired last week alarmed the public by reporting the possible dangers of consuming American beef and the special vulnerability of Koreans to mad cow disease. Some celebrities also posted comments on their homepages criticizing the government for allowing imports of U.S. beef. Last Friday, Minister of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Chung Woon-chun and Minister for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs Kim Soung-yee held a press meeting to calm public fears. They said Americans regularly boil beef bones for stew and sauces and that eating American beef with bones is safe. They also said specified risk materials such as brains and spinal cords, which carry higher risks of transmitting mad cow disease, are eliminated during butchering. “It is regrettable that rumors over the safety of U.S. beef, which have no basis in science, are spreading,” they said in a joint statement. The Wall Street Journal denied in a report on Saturday a rumor circulating in Korea that Americans are consuming Australian beef because of safety concerns about U.S. beef. The newspaper said Americans are consuming 96 percent of the beef produced in the United States. The Blue House seemingly felt pinched by the rumors and protests and held an emergency meeting with the ruling Grand National Party yesterday. A Blue House staff member acknowledged that the government had not done enough to prevent the uproar. “What the government has done so far was to belatedly hold a press conference on May 2,” a Blue House staff member was quoted as saying by Yonhap. From page 1 To soothe the fears about U.S. beef, the government and the ruling GNP are considering a measure to ban beef imports from areas in the United States if an outbreak of mad cow disease is reported there. They are also considering sending local specialists to the United States to inspect meat processing plants. Prime Minister Han Seung-soo will discuss the issue with related ministers today. They plan to talk about the issue again tomorrow and are expected to come up with ways to ensure that no specified risk materials are imported by mistake. A National Assembly hearing over resuming U.S. beef imports will be held on Wednesday. The GNP also blamed behind-the-scenes forces for making the protests overly political. GNP spokeswoman Cho Yoon-seon called candlelight vigils and petition drives calling for renegotiation of beef imports and impeachment of the president “political maneuvering.” The opposition United New Democratic Party, however, said the GNP statement is an insult to the public. “This shows how ignorant the GNP is of public [sentiment],” said Cha Young, the UNDP spokesperson. By Limb Jae-un Staff Reporter [jbiz91@joongang.co.kr] |
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