. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/KOR/274 
10 March 2008  
 (08-1036) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  REPUBLIC OF KOREA
 
If applicable, name of local government involved:     
2. Agency responsible:  Ministry for Food, Agriculture,  Forestry and Fisheries (MIFAFF*) 
*MIFAFF was launched on 29 February 2008 by merging the Ministry of Agriculture and 
Forestry and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries 
3. Products covered (provide tariff item numb er(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where 
applicable):  Cattle and beef 
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable :  Any 
trading partners 
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:  Act on the Traceability of 
Cattle and Beef (available in Korean, 13 pages) 
6. Description of content:  The National Assembly of the Re public of Korea promulgated the 
Act on the Traceability of Cattle and Beef on 21 December 2007.  The Act will enter into 
force within one year from the date of promulga tion.  This notification has the intention to 
inform Member countries of the newly introduced  measures. The main c ontents of the Act are 
as follows:  
1. The Act is applied to cattle wh ich has been raised in Korea. 
2. The owner of cattle must re port the birth or death, import or export, and transfer or 
acquisition (including slaughter) of cat tle to the Minister of the MIFAFF. 
3. An identification number for every reported  cattle will be given by the Minister and 
then will inform the owner of the cattle.  Th e designated ID number shall be attached 
to the reported cattle. 
4. The designated ID number shall be displa yed on meat and beef products by the meat 
processor or seller in order to trace the origin of the cattle. 
*The Ministry for Food, Agricu lture, Forestry and Fisheries is preparing the Enforcement 
Decree (Presidential Order) a nd Ordinance (Ministerial Order) of the above Act so that the 
related enforcement regulations  will be notified to Member  countries in due course. 
7. Objective and rationale:  [ X ] food safety, [ X ] animal health,  [   ] plant protection, 
[ X ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease,  [   ] protect territory from other damage from pests    G/SPS/N/KOR/274 
Page 2  
 
  8. International standard, guideline or recommendation:  
[   ] Codex Alimentarius Commission, [ X ] World Organization for Animal Health 
(OIE), [   ] International Plant Protection Convention, [   ] None  
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate 
reference and briefly identify deviations:    
9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:   To be available in the 
internet homepage of National Assembly ( http://www.assembly.go.kr/index.jsp  (available in 
Korean) 
10. Proposed date of adoption:  21 December 2007   
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  22 December 2008   
12. Final date for comments:  This notification is simply to inform Members of the legislative 
action of National Assembly.  But, any comment s could be received for reference for the 
MIFAFF within 60 days after notification co nsidering the Annex B of SPS Agreement. 
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [   ] National notification 
authority, [ X ] National enquiry point, or  address, fax number and E-mail address (if 
available) of other body: 
 Livestock Products  Sanitation Division 
 Ministry for Food, Agricultur e,  Forestry and Fisheries 
 Tel:  +(82) 2 500 1925  Fax:  +(82) 2 503 0020  E-mail:  yryoon@mifaff.go.kr 
13. Texts available from:  [   ] National notifica tion authority, [ X ] National enquiry point, 
or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body: 
 Livestock Products  Sanitation Division 
 Ministry for Food, Agricultur e,  Forestry and Fisheries 
 Tel:  +(82) 2 500 1925  Fax:  +(82) 2 503 0020  E-mail:  yryoon@mifaff.go.kr