By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter

Three opposition parties submitted a petition Friday to the Constitutional Court to thwart imports of U.S. beef as imported American beef is expected to go on sale on the local market from next week.

Leaders of the largest opposition United Democratic Party (UDP), the Democratic Labor Party (DLP) and the Liberty Forward Party (LFP) also called for the resignation of Cabinet ministers over the issue which has ignited public outrage.

The opposition coalition came after Agriculture Minister Chung Woon-chun Thursday announced the resumption of beef imports, which triggered protests by thousands of citizens.

Members of the three parties held a rally at the National Assembly to press for a renegotiation of the deal with the United States.

They also urged President Lee Myung-bak, who returned home last night after ending a four-day visit to China, to hold an emergency meeting with opposition leaders and pressed Cabinet ministers in order to take responsibility for the ``serious situation.''

Rep. Kim Jong-yull of the UDP claimed it was necessary to suspend the validity of the beef notification until the Constitutional Court made a ruling because the imports violate basic rights on health and personal security.

Kim and other opposition party lawmakers also claimed that Korea cannot stop American beef imports even if bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) known as mad cow disease is discovered in the U.S.

They claimed that citizens are more exposed to the dangers of the human variant of mad cow disease because Koreans eat a lot of byproducts such as intestines.

In addition, they pointed out the criteria to monitor specified risk materials (SRMs), including beef cuts with spinal cords and brains, is much slacker than that set by the European Union.

The import issue is expected to hamper operations at the National Assembly of which four-year term began Friday.

UDP floor leader Won Hye-young canceled a meeting with governing Grand National Party (GNP) Chairman Kang Jae-sup and his GNP counterpart Hong Joon-pyo originally scheduled for Thursday and Friday, respectively.

A UDP official said, ``Our party decided to cancel the meetings because they mean nothing under the current circumstances.''

The GNP and UDP have begun talks on how to organize the new parliament but the cancellation, political sources said, shows the UDP has rejected a compromise on Assembly committee posts.

GNP spokeswoman Cho Yoon-sun said, ``We think the government has taken enough measures to secure quarantine sovereignty and public health. Now is the time for Assembly members to study other complementary measures.''

ksy@koreatimes.co.kr