U.S. beef imports in South Korea made up a $504 million industry for the American beef industry in 2010.
[1] The import of U.S. beef was banned in 2003 in
South Korea and in other nations after a case of
bovine spongiform encephalopathy was discovered in the United States.
[2] At the time, South Korea was the third-largest purchaser of U.S. beef exports, with an estimated market value of $815 million. After a number of failed attempts at reopening the Korean market, imports finally resumed in July 2008 leading to the massive
2008 US beef protest in South Korea. In 2010, South Korea became the world's third largest U.S. beef importer.
[3]