By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter

South Korea will put off the notification of American beef imports scheduled for today, Minister of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Chung Woon-chun said Wednesday.

At a National Assembly hearing to discuss the ratification of a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, Chung said the government had received more than 330 separate complaints from civic groups as well as opposition parties on the safety of American beef and other key issues.

``It will take time for us to review this material. Therefore, it's unfeasible for us to go ahead with the notification as scheduled,'' he said.

Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon told the hearing that there was a need to put the U.S. backing of Seoul's plan to halt beef imports if another case of mad cow disease occurred there, in the notification of import terms.

A presidential aide hinted Tuesday at the possibility of delaying the notification. The aide said the presidential office would work with the agriculture ministry to review the complaints.

The governing Grand National Party (GNP) also requested the ministry to take time to review the complaints, instead of announcing the notification on schedule.

GNP chief policymaker Lee Hahn-koo indicated that public fears over the safety of U.S. beef must be allayed before the notification is made.

Lee, however, ruled out the possibility of renegotiation, saying the opposition claims were not convincing enough to seek this and therefore all sides had better look into other options that do not ``rock the boat.''

Sources said the government would work on a public awareness campaign about the safety of the U.S. beef before the notification is made.

Government officials made it clear that they have no plan to sit down with the United States for renegotiations.

United Democratic Party (UDP) Co-chairman Sohn Hak-kyu said his party will work closely with two other opposition parties _ the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) and the Liberty Forward Party (LFP) _ to push the government to seek more talks.

Sohn said Lee would face a grave situation if the agriculture ministry did not delay the scheduled notification of import terms for the U.S. beef. He said the government should seek new talks with Washington once the notification delay was made. His warning was made before the ministry made its announcement.

Lawyers for a Democratic Society, a liberal non-profit group, submitted to the National Assembly a petition requesting lawmakers to conduct a parliamentary investigation into the safety of U.S. beef. DLP lawmaker Kang Ki-kab and other lawmakers signed the petition, and the probe will start if a quarter of sitting representatives approve it.

hkang@koreatimes.co.kr