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Seoul, South Korea — President Lee Myung-bak is facing a fresh political test following his decision to fully open the South Korean market to U.S. beef. Lee, who took office last February as the country's first conservative, pro-U.S. leader in a decade, branded previous moves against U.S. beef imports as "politically motivated," ruling out any health risks to South Koreans from U.S. beef.

"Politicizing this issue could spark social unrest. We need to dispel the myths and get the truth out about U.S. beef," Lee told the ruling Grand National Party on Friday. Lee urged the party and the Cabinet to step up efforts to calm public fears of mad cow disease.

"U.S. beef imports are directly related to the people's daily livelihood. The government as well as the ruling party has to publicize the exact reality regarding U.S. beef to help calm public fears," Lee said.

Just after Lee's remarks, agriculture and health ministers arranged a joint press conference to address the concerns that the brain-wasting mad cow disease may be transmitted to humans.

"U.S. beef is safe to eat and poses no health risks to South Korean consumers," Agriculture Minister Chung Woon-chun said, vowing to make every effort to ensure beef safety.

Since the 1999 ban under which animal protein-based feeds are not given to cattle, there have been no confirmed made cow cases in the United States, he said. "It is the role of the government to inform the public of the truth," the agricultural minister said.

The concerted moves came amid mounting public health fears after media reports that South Koreans are more genetically vulnerable to the risks of the animal disease.

On Tuesday, a television news report claimed 94 percent of South Koreans have a gene that makes them more susceptible than Americans and British people to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, the human variant of mad cow disease. The report has fanned fears of mad cow disease, sparking protests from opposition lawmakers, farmers, civic activists and even mothers and television stars against U.S. beef imports.

Critics have launched an Internet-based signature campaign to call for impeachment of the president, who has been in office only two months and has already been hit by a set of scandals involving his aides. A major portal site showed more than 600,000 people had signed as of Friday afternoon. Organizers said they aimed to collect signatures from 10 million people, more than one-fifth of the country's entire population of 49 million.

Internet message boards are flooded with comments protesting against U.S. beef imports and denouncing the government. President Lee's personal homepage was downed after attacks from critics.

Some 5,000 people staged candlelight vigils in central Seoul Friday night to protest against imports of U.S. beef and call for their government to revoke the beef deal. "Mad cow, mad government makes us mad!" "Are you going to kill all of us?" protesters chanted.

On Thursday, unionists used their May Day rallies to oppose the imports of American beef and the proposed free trade deal with the United States. "No American beef. No to FTA!" the workers shouted, waving banners.

Opposition lawmakers accused President Lee of making the concession on opening the beef market to win political benefits from the United States.

South Korea, previously the third-largest export market for U.S. beef behind Japan and Mexico, banned imports of American beef in late 2003 after mad cow disease was discovered in the United States. But it agreed to resume imports last month, just ahead of a summit between Lee and U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington.

Lee has become the first South Korean leader invited to the U.S. presidential retreat in Maryland, which has raised suspicions that the market opening was a present for Bush in return for the summit at Camp David.

Critics said the market opening to US. beef was a result of Lee's "humble" diplomacy. Sohn Hak-kyu, leader of the main opposition United Democratic Party, said Lee made the concession to Washington for his "personal political purpose."

"The government made an unconditional concession to the United States," said Kang Ki-kab, a lawmaker from another opposition party, the Democratic Labor Party. "It is unacceptable that the government made a bargain that jeopardizes public health," he said.

Some political commentators said the beef issue could revive anti-American sentiment in South Korea, citing media reports that opening the beef market was just one of a long list of U.S. demands to the newly-inaugurated Lee government to test its pledge to strengthen U.S. ties.