President Lee Myung-bak on Wednesday also said if reopening of the beef market were to pose any threat to the people’s health, the government will immediately suspend imports and take “appropriate measures.” The government’s latest policy runs counter to the wording of the Korea-U.S. beef agreement reached on April 18 and could lead to actual trade friction. But the reason why the government has decided to take such measures is because it has realized that vague fears and worries about mad cow disease have already spread extensively throughout Korean society.

During the National Assembly hearing, lawmakers did not present any new evidence proving the dangers of mad cow disease from U.S. beef. Rather than getting to the point of addressing the fears, all that was discussed were issues such as the process and timing of beef negotiations, which some lawmakers criticized as resulting in disadvantageous conditions for Korea, with Seoul giving up too much.

Some preposterous claims were also raised during the hearing, including one that says 95 percent of Americans consume beef only from cattle less than 20 months old. But that’s an irrelevant point, since 97 percent of cattle slaughtered in the United States are less than 20 months old and between 94 and 95 percent of U.S. beef is consumed by Americans. And those are precisely the types of beef we will be importing. It is ridiculous to ask why Korea will import dangerous beef when Americans consume only safe meat.

It’s about time the mad cow controversy stopped shaking Korean society. Agriculture Minister Chung cited an incident where a high school girl called his office and burst into tears. Chung said the girl cited groundless rumors about U.S. beef imports, saying she wouldn’t be able to eat instant noodles due to mad cow disease and wouldn’t be able to use sanitary napkins (since they contain gelatin derived from cowhide). We must have an end to such groundless rumors that have scared young students and incited them, rattling the entire country in the process.

What the government must do now is to gain the public’s trust in terms of the safety measures it is taking by honestly and promptly revealing information about imported beef, while coming up with substantive measures to protect Korean cattle farmers who will be impacted by U.S. beef imports. That is how the government will be able to protect the public from the efforts of forces who are interested only in inciting the public, without any real regard for the livelihood of Korean cattle farmers.