[Edaily Reporter Ji-hye Park] Former Mayor of Daegu, Hong Joon-pyo, commented on the conclusion of the U.S.-Korea tariff negotiations by asking, “Where are the celebrity figures who previously said they would rather eat cyanide than U.S. beef?”
Hong posted on social media on the 31st, “When I was the ruling party representative in October 2011, there was opposition and incitement of the entire nation against the KORUS FTA (Free Trade Agreement) due to mad cow disease rumors, and I was labeled a traitor. Back then, people opposed the zero-tariff policy of the KORUS FTA, but now they are praising the 15% tariff negotiations.”
He continued, “Isn’t the U.S. selling beef over 30 months old?” and then reiterated, “Where are the celebrity figures who said they’d rather eat cyanide than U.S. beef?”
He also noted, “Korea is reportedly the country that imports the most U.S. beef.”
Hong concluded by stating, “The entire world is suffering under Trump’s tariff policies.”
The U.S.-Korea tariff negotiations were concluded two days ahead of the tariffs set to be imposed on August 1st.
The U.S. initially announced a reciprocal tariff of 25%, which was reduced to 15%, including the auto tariff previously set at 25%.
The U.S. had strongly demanded further opening of the beef and rice markets, but the Korean government emphasized food security and agricultural sensitivity, refusing the demand.
Currently, Korea only imports U.S. beef under 30 months old, with no cases of mad cow disease reported. U.S. President Donald Trump expressed dissatisfaction over this specific issue on social media.
In response to such pressure, the Korean negotiation team reportedly brought out past photos of the “mad cow disease protests.”
Ho Kwang-koo, head of the Trade Negotiation Headquarters at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, explained in a briefing that they carried photos showing nearly a million people participating in candlelight protests in the Gwanghwamun area during the 2008 mad cow disease protests and showed them to representatives of the U.S. Trade Representative and Secretary of Commerce to emphasize this to them.
They also presented specific statistics, highlighting that 99.7% of the agricultural and livestock markets have already been opened through the Korea-US FTA, and emphasized that Korea is the number one market for U.S. beef overseas, thereby conveying the ’emotional sensitivity’ felt by the Korean people and persuading them as much as possible.