YONHAP NEWS

Seoul's new legislature off to stormy start amid beef uproar

   By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, May 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's new parliament got off to a rough start Friday, as opposition legislators threatened to take to the streets over impending U.S. beef imports, and cracks appeared in the conservative ruling party over the contentious issue.

   Discussions on new parliamentary committees, which are required by law to be established by June 7, were pushed into the background as opposition legislators were set to hold street protests and hunger strikes to scuttle the beef deal, which has sparked massive nationwide protests.

   The South Korean government Thursday entered a legal process to put the new import terms into effect, brushing off immense public objections. Most American meat cuts will reenter the country as early as next month for the first time in almost five years.

   President Lee Myung-bak's Grand National Party (GNP) holds a majority of 153 seats in the 299-unicameral legislature. Should the party succeed in smoothly settling the issue of reinstating its defectors close to former chairwoman Park Geun-hye, it will control a minimum of 170 seats.

   Public discontent over U.S. beef, however, is expected to further hurt the administration and the ruling party, already plagued by a slowing economy and a series of controversial policies and personnel appointments.

   Signs of internal division are showing as some ruling party legislators assert the government should delay formal notification of imports and take more time in soothing the public concerns.

   "Many are pointing out that now is not a good time (to resume beef imports)," a GNP lawmaker said, requesting confidentiality.
Moreover, escalating tension with the opposition is likely to dampen the prospects for ratification of a Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA), which has been viewed as crucial in giving impetus to the economic initiatives of the conservative Lee government.
Both the U.S. and South Korean legislatures are split over whether to ratify the trade pact, which was struck last June under the liberal Roh Moo-hyun government.

   The main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP), which lost its grip on power after being defeated in December's presidential poll and April general elections, appears keen to use the current uproar as leverage to block ratification of the FTA and other right-leaning reform bills.

   Shrinking to 81 seats in the parliament from its initial 143, the party must succeed in drawing cooperation from minor parties in the new parliament to prevent the ruling party's single-handed revisions.

   The UDP is currently leading the opponents' move to initiate legislative bills and file lawsuits to block U.S. beef imports.

   "Do not even dream about fooling the public into eating dangerous American beef," UDP leader Sohn Hak-kyu said Friday. "We will not stand for it."
However, the liberal party is divided over the merit of the party taking to the streets as some moderate members worry such a move may backfire and damage its reputation as a political institution.

   "We may face criticism that we neglected (our focus on) the public livelihood and rightful procedures for the smooth running of the new parliament," a UDP legislator said, requesting not to be named.

   Seoul has agreed to almost entirely remove its restrictions on U.S. beef imports -- including the age of butchered cattle -- fueling local concerns over mad cow disease. The decision comes almost five years after the country banned U.S. beef in 2003 due to cases of mad cow disease in the U.S.

   In a bid to soothe public concerns, the government struck an additional agreement with Washington last week, giving Seoul the right to suspend imports should a new case of mad cow disease be confirmed in U.S. cattle.
But the public appears hardly affected with tens of thousands of citizens rallying against the imports almost everyday since earlier this month.

   hayney@yna.co.kr
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