SEOUL - SOUTH Korea's supermarket chains resumed selling US beef on Thursday, nearly five months after the government lifted an import ban imposed over fears of mad cow disease.

South Korea banned American beef in 2003 after a case of mad cow disease was discovered in the US. The government lifted that ban in June - a move that sparked weeks of violent protests by South Koreans concerned about the health risks of eating US meat.

US beef has been available in small butcher shops and some restaurants, but major supermarkets and larger restaurants have been shying away from offering US beef out of concerns of possible public backlash.

On Thursday, however, large discount department stores including E-mart, Home Plus and Lotte Mart began selling US beef at 250 local branches, saying customers are demanding cheaper meat, according to the Korea Chainstores Association.

Small supermarkets and restaurants also are expected to resume selling US beef soon, spokesman Ko Sang-bum said.

About 20 activists staged a rally in front of a Seoul E-mart store, chanting anti-US beef slogans voicing their fears of mad cow disease. There were no immediate reports of violence.

'It's sly of them to start selling mad cow beef and exploit consumers who are being pressured by the economic downturn,' said Jeon Sung-do, secretary general of the Alliance of National Farmers' Associations.

'We will continue to stage protests outside shops that sell US beef.'

American beef is significantly cheaper than domestic Korean brands. At one E-mart store, US beef was selling on Thursday for less than half the price of Korean domestic beef: 100g of rump sold for 5,500 won - about US$3.70 (S$5.58) - while an equivalent cut from US cattle was priced at 2,580 won, or US$1.70, per 100g.

'They go on and on about it, but US beef does taste nice and I don't see what's so urgently dangerous about it,' said one customer, who gave only her surname, Hong. 'And it's cheap - that's all we consumers care about.' -- AP