It reports that about 85t of US beef out of 5300t in frozen storage already in Korea will be available on the market once it has passed through quarantine check-up processes, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the National Veterinary Research Quarantine Service.

Once the quarantine certificates issued, the checked beef is expected to go on sale this week.

The Korean Import Beef Association said on Monday that it is now seeking to have about 200 affiliated members join a massive discount sale until the end of July.

An importer explained their biggest concern is to dispose of the stock as soon as possible and this will force most meat dealers to roll back prices.

Some of the meat is in dire need of disposal. About 1000t of the whole storage was imported as chilled meat but kept frozen because of the import suspension.

The circulation period of that kind of beef is one year, half that of normal frozen meat, which means most will expire in two or three months at best.

However, the JoongAng Daily, is reporting that many retailers want to wait to sell US beef.

It says some Korean restaurant owners are also looking into discount promotions, but others are taking more cautious steps, saying they will sell according to the public's response.

A majority of franchises are saying that they want to wait before they serve US beef in their restaurants and watch the public's response when the imports come in.

"Ultimately, we have to use US beef for profit, but if we are too quick to use the beef, it might not please our customers," said Ahn Seong-hun, a manager at beef restaurant franchise Haruwon.

"We are planning to serve US beef starting from next week," said Park Jong-hyeon, owner of the Yangjae branch of beef restaurant Damiso.

"We found that the majority of our customers do not have qualms about US beef."