1. Through a letter conveyed to the WTO Chairman by the Korean Ambassador to Geneva on May 21, 2002, 
the Government of the Republic of Korea officially requested that the WTO establish a Panel to decide 
whether the US safeguard measures on steel are inconsistent with the WTO Agreement.

 
2. The Korean Government requested that the Chairman of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) hold a 
DSB Special Meeting to consider Korea's request. Accordingly, Korea's request will be decided upon at the 
DSB Special Meeting to be held on June 3, 2002. Should the US oppose the establishment of a Panel, one 
will automatically be launched at the next Special Meeting, according to WTO regulations.

 
3. The Panel process normally takes 6 to 9 months, and it is expected that a decision will be made by the first 
half of next year.

 
4. On March 5, 2002, the US Government took safeguard measures which imposed immediate tariffs of 8% 
to 30% for 3 years on 14 imported steel products. In response, the Korean Government requested bilateral 
consultations in accordance with the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) when the safeguards 
measures became effective on March 20, 2002. The bilateral consultations took place over 60 days, as 
stipulated in the WTO Safeguard Agreement, however, both sides were not able to reach an agreement on 
withdrawing or changing the measures. This led Korea to request for the establishment of a Panel. Japan 
also requested a Panel on the same date.

                                                                Spokesperson of MOFAT   

* unofficial translation