Thousands Protest U.S. Beef In S. Korea

Police Fire Water Cannons Into Crowds Of South Koreans Protesting U.S. Beef Imports

(AP)  Police clashed with elements of a crowd estimated at nearly 40,000 who protested into early Sunday in downtown Seoul against South Korean government plans to import U.S. beef.

Water cannons were fired at some of the protesters who were blocked by police buses from a road leading to the presidential Blue House, prompting angry reaction from demonstrators.

Several protesters injured by the water cannon were taken to hospital.

A crowd estimated by police at 38,000 people filled a plaza in front of city hall. Protesters lit candles, waved placards and chanted slogans criticizing President Lee Myung-bak.

The rally was largely peaceful, with most protesters dispersing voluntarily. But sporadic clashes between some protesters and police continued into the early hours of Sunday.

South Korea agreed in April to reopen what was formerly the third-largest overseas market for U.S. beef. It had been shut most of the past 4 1/2 years following the first U.S. case of mad cow disease in a Canadian-born cow in Washington state in 2003.

That deal, coupled with some sensational media reports, sparked fears of mad cow disease and triggered protests calling for scrapping or renegotiating the agreement.

Students, labor union members, office workers were among those who filled the plaza, which was surrounded by special buses used by riot police.

Anger has intensified since Thursday, when the government announced it would implement the April 18 agreement with Washington and resume beef imports within days despite widespread public opposition.

Rallies in recent days have ended with protesters marching through downtown streets, where some scuffles with police have resulted. Police said they deployed about 11,000 personnel to protest sites in the capital Saturday to guard against possible violence.

The beef issue has emerged as the biggest domestic challenge for Lee's fledgling administration. The former construction industry chief executive took office Feb. 25 on a vow to boost the economy and is approaching his 100th day in office.

Though his margin of victory in December's election was the largest ever in South Korea, his handling of the beef agreement has seen his popularity plummet to levels near 20 percent.

The timing of the deal - just hours before a summit with U.S. President George W. Bush at his Camp David retreat - struck a particularly raw nerve.

Protesters claim Lee was too quick to concede to U.S. demands for access to South Korea's market to win favor with Washington and garner support in Congress for ratification of a separate free trade agreement.

Scientists believe mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, spreads when farmers feed cattle recycled meat and bones from infected animals. The U.S. banned recycled feeds in 1997.

In humans, eating meat products contaminated with the cattle disease is linked to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare and fatal malady.

[ray999999]

we need the beef here so the prices will go down all i can afford is hamburger and there sending steaks to korea,this has to be a bush idea.

[ioweign]

Are Hyundai and Kia linked to bovine spongiform encephalopathy...

[feelfree4u]

Re: "That deal, coupled with some sensational media reports, sparked fears of mad cow disease and triggered protests calling for scrapping or renegotiating the agreement."

You can''t really blame them for being worried about the mad-cow disease.

Look at the obvious and profound mental health toll that it has already taken on our own population.

[yongamerica]

Them there Koreans are crazy as it is. If they don''t want to eat US beef, all they have to do is not put it in their mouths.

And this highlights the need for the US Department of Agriculture to require country of origin labels on all meat, poultry, fish, fruits and vegetables sold in stores and restaurants. It''d be interesting to see what and where the stuff that made into a Big Mac comes from.

[tootall10142]

Actully the price of beef would subside if the aid money is regulated by sales international or other wise.You made not save at the beef counter but you would in fedral tax hikes.

[h5mind]

Corporate greed and factory farming which employs questionable sanitation methods is to blame for both Mad Cow disease as well as numerous other disorders from eating this doped up, bio-engineered offal. A family farmer would never dream of grinding up Bessie''s remains to feed Clarabel.

[haoli25]

This from the people that still eat cats and dogs.
lol

[itgranny]

h5mind: you and everyone like you need to be educated in farming practices. You listen too much to the lies and half-truths PETA spreads and take it to be the god-honest truth.

[irliberal]

Oi, carnivores! [rolls eyes]

[demslie]

Its amazing how CBS (Communist Broadcast System) keeps reprinting this months old story to make America look bad. Korean people live on a steady diet of street dog but they are outraged at the prospect of importing bad old American Beef. Sounds like another Democrat (DNC) Talking Point for O''Bama.

[floydzeppl]

Its amazing how CBS (Communist Broadcast System) keeps reprinting this months old story to make America look bad. Korean people live on a steady diet of street dog but they are outraged at the prospect of importing bad old American Beef. Sounds like another Democrat (DNC) Talking Point for O''''Bama.

Posted by demslie at 10:40 AM : Jun 01, 2008
----------

Look how you right nutwing Freakvannies have made America hated by everyone.

Dumass Failure Republicans.

[naughtycuty]

what you guys are saying here seems so dumb and immature. have you ever looked up the trade agreement between S.korea and US about this Beef issue?
S.korea is importing U.S cattle which is younger than 30 years old. it means they would import cattle which is in age of between 20 and 30. do yo know cattle which is older than 20 is most likely to be infected by mad cow disease? you wouldnt know cuz you are eating only pure and safe cattle younger than 20 in ur every day meal. you dont even care how this can affect the korean people. In addition I know U.S cattle is still fed by recycled meat and bones from dead or infected cattle even though they say they dont. S.korea also agreed not to immediately halt imports even if a new case of mad cow disease is discovered in the U.S. Instead, korea would only move to halt imports if the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health downgrades its safety rating for American cattle. I have a lot of things to say, but I gtg so I just wanna finish saying how dumb it is to comment your own biased opinion when you dont even actually know what this exatly means.

[trenticus-2009]

naughtycuty, You''re an idiot ....

[downsteamjim]

Using Korean logic, we should ban the importation and or use of Kia & Hyundai since they kill more Americans than American beef kills Koreans.

[downsteamjim]

Hey NuaghtCuty: What is with 30 year old cows? How about 30 month old.

[bcweitzel]

Good call, downsteamjim. Let them eat their cars!

I say if that''s the way they want to be let''s give them to the North Koreans. Don''t like our beef? Then our servicepeople don''t like your country!

[lindh4]

Few people seem to understand the US beef market. From cow-calf operations in the mid-west (Nebraska, primarily) calves are injected with growth hormones at about 60 days age. At about 10 months, they are trucked to large feedlots and finished at about 16 months, weighing around 1300 lbs. Some are held back a little longer and may grade prime.

Cows are productive to age 9 or 10, and then become canners and cutters (canned beef/hamburger)along with non productive bulls.

There is a small market for grass fed beef, but it lacks the marbling for quality steaks. I don''t know what the Koreans are buying but I suspect they want choice or prime beef.

There is still no serious penalty for feeding animal residue to cattle in the US. It''s simply an accident waiting to happen. And with the price of grain, cattle feeders may be tempted to substitute animal residue.

[hypnotoad72]

Using Korean logic, we should ban the importation and or use of Kia & Hyundai since they kill more Americans than American beef kills Koreans.

Posted by downsteamjim
------------------------

Good call.

[knewscbs]

I think many American citizens'' commenents on this news artcile seem to come from misunderstanding of the reality of Korea.
It seems that the article also point out the key issue in this demonstration by Korean people is the resumption of US beef import into Korea.
But Korean people is not asking for the complete ban of the US beef import.

[knewscbs]

The US beef industry is selling the beef from cows 30-month old or older only to Canada and Korea. Canada is an exceptional case given that the mad cow disease cases were already found in its territory and they have to export their cows/beef to the US.
But Korea is not able to sell its beef to the US yet - even though the cause of this ban was already resolved a few years ago. And Korea has to also import the SRM (specific risk materials)and ARM. I understand the FDA bans the use of the ARM for the school lunch.
The fear of eating the US beef is partially related to the US government policies.
For example, the FDA has been trying to implement the ban of animal feeds for cows since the outbreak ofthe mad cow disease in the US in 2003.
Yet that policy is not being implemented; guess who is behind this delay?
Many scientists say the beef from old cows (for example, 30-month old or older) has a higher probability of infection by the "prion". And the animal feed is the main cause of the mad cow disease until now; scientists keep researching the causes and prevention measures of this mad cow disease and the human mad cow disease (e.g., vCJD).

[knewscbs]

Yet the US government allows for the cross-feeding of animal feeds. Hogs and chicken are fed with the meat and bones of old cows (, which the Beef industry cannot sell as beef in the US market;including ''downers'')and the cows are fed with the meat and bones from hogs and chikens. The risk of being infected by the prion in this siutain may be much higher than the American consumers feel these days. More importantly, there is no data in the US. Why? The USDA does not enforce the testing of all cows before slaughter; the reason is obvioous - the profits to the beef processing industry will be lowered. Japan does test all the cows and asks the US industry to test all the cows to be processes and to be exported into Japanese market. Japan only imports the beef from cows 20-month old or younger. Then why does Korea have to imort the US beef from old cows?

[knewscbs]

The reason is simple:
first there is no other country to buy this kind of beef in the world - only Canada and Korea.
second, it should be an economic decision while protecting its sovereign rights to inspection (for the rights to healthy life of its people). But this Lee adminstration is too pro_America and actually decides to protect the profits of the US beef industry while abandoning the fundamental rights of Korean people. Why does Korea have to import the risky meat that Japan and other countries do not import at all?

[knewscbs]

The solution of this demonstration by Korean people is rather simple.
The Lee administratin just says "We are ''sorry'' for this renegotiation but our people really want to restrict the import of beef from old cows and beef containing the SRM and ARM" to the US government.
Let me repeat: Korean people are not stupid. They all know Korea has to import the US beef and other items (cars, too). But they do not want to eat the beef from sick cows (FDA cannot guarantee that US beef is not from sick cows -why" again they do not enforce testing of all cows ; only less than 1.0% of all the cows processed in a year are tested!).

[hokimonki]

I strongly insist that the rally in Korea is not anymore about US beef. It is about the corrupt Lee Administration who only works for the wealthiest 2% of Koreans. Import of US beef without regulation was just the beginning of the rally. The Lee Administration is also promoting the privatization of health care, electricity, water supply and other public goods. They cut the budget for social welfare and are trying to reduce tax for the rich. And it has only been 3 months since the administration started. People wonder what is next.

The foreign mass media says that it is about US beef and implies that Anti-American sentiment has something to do with it.

Believe me (I live in the States and my husband and my son are both Americans). Koreans are only opposed to US beef older than 30 months. Koreans are particularly concerned about beef from old cows because old cows have a higher risk of mad cow disease and Koreans use cow organs and bones for various cooking. We have no concern nor opposition to beef younger then 20 month which is what Japan imports from the US.

Again, it started as a protest of "OLD" US beef but now it is all about the corrupt and arrogant President Lee who is a dictator.

[hokimonki]

I strongly insist that the rally in Korea is not anymore about US beef. It is about the corrupt Lee Administration who only works for the wealthiest 2% of Koreans. Import of US beef without regulation was just the beginning of the rally. The Lee Administration is also promoting the privatization of health care, electricity, water supply and other public goods. They cut the budget for social welfare and are trying to reduce tax for the rich. And it has only been 3 months since the administration started. People wonder what is next.

The foreign mass media says that it is about US beef and implies that Anti-American sentiment has something to do with it.

Believe me (I live in the States and my husband and my son are both Americans). Koreans are only opposed to US beef older than 30 months. Koreans are particularly concerned about beef from old cows because old cows have a higher risk of mad cow disease and Koreans use cow organs and bones for various cooking. We have no concern nor opposition to beef younger then 20 month which is what Japan imports from the US.

Again, it started as a protest of "OLD" US beef but now it is all about the corrupt and arrogant President Lee who is a dictator.

[hokimonki]

I strongly insist that the rally in Korea is not anymore about US beef. It is about the corrupt Lee Administration who only works for the wealthiest 2% of Koreans. Import of US beef without regulation was just the beginning of the rally. The Lee Administration is also promoting the privatization of health care, electricity, water supply and other public goods. They cut the budget for social welfare and are trying to reduce tax for the rich. And it has only been 3 months since the administration started. People wonder what is next.

The foreign mass media says that it is about US beef and implies that Anti-American sentiment has something to do with it.

Believe me (I live in the States and my husband and my son are both Americans). Koreans are only opposed to US beef older than 30 months. Koreans are particularly concerned about beef from old cows because old cows have a higher risk of mad cow disease and Koreans use cow organs and bones for various cooking. We have no concern nor opposition to beef younger then 20 month which is what Japan imports from the US.

Again, it started as a protest of "OLD" US beef but now it is all about the corrupt and arrogant President Lee who is a dictator.

[hokimonki]

I strongly insist that the rally in Korea is not anymore about US beef. It is about the corrupt Lee Administration who only works for the wealthiest 2% of Koreans. Import of US beef without regulation was just the beginning of the rally. The Lee Administration is also promoting the privatization of health care, electricity, water supply and other public goods. They cut the budget for social welfare and are trying to reduce tax for the rich. And it has only been 3 months since the administration started. People wonder what is next.

The foreign mass media says that it is about US beef and implies that Anti-American sentiment has something to do with it.

Believe me (I live in the States and my husband and my son are both Americans). Koreans are only opposed to US beef older than 30 months. Koreans are particularly concerned about beef from old cows because old cows have a higher risk of mad cow disease and Koreans use cow organs and bones for various cooking. We have no concern nor opposition to beef younger then 20 month which is what Japan imports from the US.

Again, it started as a protest of "OLD" US beef but now it is all about the corrupt and arrogant President Lee who is a dictator.

[hokimonki]

I strongly insist that the rally in Korea is not anymore about US beef. It is about the corrupt Lee Administration who only works for the wealthiest 2% of Koreans. Import of US beef without regulation was just the beginning of the rally. The Lee Administration is also promoting the privatization of health care, electricity, water supply and other public goods. They cut the budget for social welfare and are trying to reduce tax for the rich. And it has only been 3 months since the administration started. People wonder what is next.

The foreign mass media says that it is about US beef and implies that Anti-American sentiment has something to do with it.

Believe me (I live in the States and my husband and my son are both Americans). Koreans are only opposed to US beef older than 30 months. Koreans are particularly concerned about beef from old cows because old cows have a higher risk of mad cow disease and Koreans use cow organs and bones for various cooking. We have no concern nor opposition to beef younger then 20 month which is what Japan imports from the US.

Again, it started as a protest of "OLD" US beef but now it is all about the corrupt and arrogant President Lee who is a dictator.

[hokimonki]

I strongly insist that the rally in Korea is not anymore about US beef. It is about the corrupt Lee Administration who only works for the wealthiest 2% of Koreans. Import of US beef without regulation was just the beginning of the rally. The Lee Administration is also promoting the privatization of health care, electricity, water supply and other public goods. They cut the budget for social welfare and are trying to reduce tax for the rich. And it has only been 3 months since the administration started. People wonder what is next.

The foreign mass media says that it is about US beef and implies that Anti-American sentiment has something to do with it.

Believe me (I live in the States and my husband and my son are both Americans). Koreans are only opposed to US beef older than 30 months. Koreans are particularly concerned about beef from old cows because old cows have a higher risk of mad cow disease and Koreans use cow organs and bones for various cooking. We have no concern nor opposition to beef younger then 20 month which is what Japan imports from the US.

Again, it started as a protest of "OLD" US beef but now it is all about the corrupt and arrogant President Lee who is a dictator.

[hokimonki]

I strongly insist that the rally in Korea is not anymore about US beef. It is about the corrupt Lee Administration who only works for the wealthiest 2% of Koreans. Import of US beef without regulation was just the beginning of the rally. The Lee Administration is also promoting the privatization of health care, electricity, water supply and other public goods. They cut the budget for social welfare and are trying to reduce tax for the rich. And it has only been 3 months since the administration started. People wonder what is next.

The foreign mass media says that it is about US beef and implies that Anti-American sentiment has something to do with it.

Believe me (I live in the States and my husband and my son are both Americans). Koreans are only opposed to US beef older than 30 months. Koreans are particularly concerned about beef from old cows because old cows have a higher risk of mad cow disease and Koreans use cow organs and bones for various cooking. We have no concern nor opposition to beef younger then 20 month which is what Japan imports from the US.

Again, it started as a protest of "OLD" US beef but now it is all about the corrupt and arrogant President Lee who is a dictator.

[randynason]

Maybe the Koreans feel that American beef infused with artificial hormones is not the healthiest way to go, considering the high rates of cancer these days. Or, maybe they just don''t like us and don''t want any of our products. For anyone to take offense at Korea''s unwillingness to accept our beef is simply arrogant and reason in itself why most people from other countries cannot stand us or our politics.

[h5mind]

I agree that the Koreans almost certainly have other "beefs" regarding their government''s relationship to our own. But make no mistake, corporate farming practices in the US are profit-oriented, not health oriented. Witness the coincidental growth in factory farming for pork, beef and poultry and etc. with digestive and immunological ailments in the population, and it does not take a scientst to realize the quality of our food has gone downhill in the past 20 years, with no cost savings to the consumer. North Carolina is a good example of this, where in 20 years, tens of thousands of family pig farmers have been replaced by handful of mega factories thanks to folks like pork bilionaire Wendell Murphy. Murphy spent years in NC legislature where he helped pass laws favorable to factory pig farms and his personal business. Where animals once were free to roam, they are now crammed into tight enclosures, and fed antibiotics and other additives to accelerate their growth and weight gain. These facilities are invariably accompanied by huge poop lagoons, which pose an extreme envrimental health hazard, but which are unregulated by the EPA. So forget PETA. Do a little digging on your own and learn how there''s a more humane way to provide nutritious, safe meat and poultry products to the consumers, and factory farms ain''t it.

[beehive21-2009]

Makes you wonder ? whats up with our beef ?

[apprxam]

Well, the Beef Council can sue Oprah again, or they can appoint John Bolton as Beef Ambassador to the United Nations and sue them from the inside.

We are the United States and we shouldn''t have to stand for people from Korea or the EU or Iraq not eating what we make no matter how much democracy we gave them.

[edintex]

The Koreans only like the U.S. when North Korea rattles its sabre. South Korea is much stronger, militarily, than the North now. We, the U.s., should just pull completely out of South Korea NOW. Let them eat CROW.

[alexrusso1]

All this Ignorance is amazing, read what Hokimonki said

Don''t you think it''s strange that the President will enable beef product trade if the whole majority is against it? It''s because it will benefit all the meat fatcats in the U.S.A and Korea. Its all about the money, the current Korean President is very corrupt

[alexrusso1]

Look at these Pictures, this is what is the result of that Protest

http://wikileaks.org/leak/korea-candlelight-protest-photos-2008-5-31/index.html

[jdyim]

Hey guys, READ comments. Hokimonki just got the points;

No Korean protester is blaming on US. They rally against Mr. Lee, the president.

They accept all US beef but from over-30-months cows. 95% of beef on your dinner table is from safe cows which are less than 30 months.

How lucky you are - your government exactly knows how to keep its people safe from the Mad-Cow Disease!

[jdyim]

TO Hokimonki,
Thanks a lot for your comment. But please be careful not to post the same stories many times. Don''t press the ''publish'' button repeatedly. Click once, wait and refresh the page.

[blueberry79]

What makes Korean angry is that imported beef is different from that of American eating. More than 90% of Americans don''t eat over 30 months beef because it is likely to cause mad cow disease. Study more if you don''t understand why the over 30 months beef could be dangerous. Again, the point is the beef itself. I guess Koreans wouldn''t have gotten any problem with the US beef if US had tried to sell the same beef as they eat.

[peace001-2009]

The reason why Koreans do protest is related with the fact in that imported beef is not the same as the beef sold in US. In US, the circulated beef is aged less than 18 monthes. However to be imported beef is older than 30 monthes. According to most study of "mad cow disease", the mad cow dieses is related with the age of cow itself.

In 2005, South Korea already opened their beef market to US with the condition of aged less than 20 monthes. South Korea is the 3rd country to import US beef in the world.

Besides, it is relaed with the specific parts of the beef. Technically, the part which can cause the mad cow dieses is "SRM". SRM would be bones, intestines etc. Many of the Korean foods make soup out of bones. It made people dreadful.

It is not realted with US people or US product. It is more related with the fact that they would like to keep their right not to get the mad cow disease.

[greenerin]

hello, i am korean, oh well, i see some biased perspectives toward korean people as antiamericanist, nationalist or whatever. but the point of demonstration is not against US but against the incompetent and deafish new korean government. of course we have right to eat what we want to eat but the new government even gave the right to quarantine meats to US government. and what they are trying to say now is that they will put lots of forces to inspect safe beef from bad beef when the import starts but how long will it last? no korean people is believing whatever it says. so, the point is you can''t blame us to being resistance to the negotiation but have to accept our great apologize for letting ******* president negotiate with your government.

[minisohn]

FDA%u2019s decision to only ban a limited subset of specified risk materials (SRMs)%u2014the brain and spinal cord%u2014from cattle over 30 months from all animal feed, leaves the safety of beef at risk. Although this is a small step forward, this ban will not close the loopholes in the present feed ban and fully protect the US from the spread of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). The proposed feed ban appears to put the economic interests of the rendering and feed industry above public health concerns.

[gomdoll2]

Sorry I''m Korean. So my comment hear might be biased.

I dont want some US beef(older than 30 month old and no SRM) It doesnt mean that I dont want all US beef at all nor I hate US. I am living in US and I love to be here. I eat US beef almost everyday. Why? Cuz all beef I buy here is less than 30 month old. That''s what I want people in Korea to eat.

Alot of comments here mentioned Korean Cars.
Do you think US imports all Korean Cars? We only import cars that meet US safe specifications.
That''s comsummer''s right, isnt it?

This protest is about unfairness of deal and our leaders stupidness.

I mean did you buy Korean cars because you like Koreans?
Do we have to buy whatever you sell just because you helped us 50 years ago?
You dont buy anything from Germany because of WW II?

[volkswagen6]

No one has ever gotten mad cow disease from American beef. This alone is enough to establish the fear in Korea is irrational.

[gomdoll2]

No one has eaten beef which Americans are NOT allowed to eat by Law yet fortunately.

Now those leftover trashs are comming into Korea.


And we never know if those trashes aleady went to feed some poor African ppl who can''t poove mad cow disease by themself.

No proof doesnt mean no existance.

[gomdoll2]

Please note that Japan imports US beef only younger than 20 month old. Koreans are saying "Please younger 30 month." You better stop buying Lexus & Toyota before Hyundai.