hankyoreh

The South Korean government has rejected a civic group’s request to disclose information about how it decided to lift a suspension of quarantine inspections on U.S. beef.

The Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Ministry of Agriculture said on September 20 that they had informed Lawyers for a Democratic Society, a progressive civic group known as Minbyon in Korean, of the decision. The group had asked last month that the two ministries make the information public.

The civic group asked the ministries to disclose the minutes of a ministers’ meeting before the government announced the resumption of quarantine inspections for American beef on August 27.

In response to the request, the Finance Ministry said, “Under No. 2, Clause 1, Article 9, of the Information Disclosure Law, it can’t be disclosed.”

The Agriculture Ministry also said it could not disclose a U.S. government document because it was confidential. The document contains the U.S. government’s explanation and countermeasures regarding banned parts of U.S. beef that were shipped to South Korea over the summer. The ministry also notified the civic group that it could not disclose other documents written by the South Korean government because it would seriously damage negotiations if made public.

However, a controversy is brewing over the government’s non-disclosure stance. The Finance Ministry rejected the civic group’s request, citing a clause that requires the government to turn down a call to disclose information about national security, unification, defense, foreign affairs and other matters of concern that could potentially undermine the national interest.

Song Ki-ho, a lawyer who is affiliated with Lawyers for a Democratic Society, said, “The Finance Ministry’s argument, which cites the regulation on information disclosure about beef quarantine inspections as causing significant harm to the national interest, is groundless.”

Sales of U.S. beef in South Korea have faced a rocky history. South Korea banned shipments of U.S. beef in 2003, following an outbreak of mad cow disease. The ban was lifted in January 2006, when the Korean government began to allow boneless beef from cattle under 30 months old. On August 1 of this year, the government again halted quarantine inspections on U.S. beef, after two shipments of beef were found to contain ribs and a partial spinal column, both of which are prohibited and are known to contain higher risk for the disease. The ban was lifted on August 27, after Seoul requested and reviewed an explanation from Washington on the matter and found it to be sufficient enough to lift the ban.


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