U.S. Beef Plagues S. Korean Government

Entire Cabinet Offer Resignations After Public Outcry Over Dropped Import Ban

(CBS/AP)  South Korea's entire Cabinet offered to resign Tuesday as President Lee Myung-bak struggled to dampen weeks of public uproar over the planned resumption of U.S. beef imports.

Prime Minister Han Seung-soo tendered his resignation along with other government ministers to the, a spokesman at the prime minister's office said.

Spokesman Lee Dong-kwan did not say whether the president would accept the resignations.

Eight senior presidential secretaries had already offered to quit last week to take responsibility for the beef dispute, but Lee has not decided whether to accept those resignations either.

The government agreed in April to lift almost all restrictions imposed on imports of U.S. beef over fears of mad cow disease. The decision sparked weeks of near-daily protests demanding the government scrap or renegotiate the beef deal, amid perceptions it did not do enough to protect citizens.

More large rallies were expected later Tuesday, with civic groups saying hundreds of thousands of people would hold candlelight vigils throughout the country.

"President Lee hasn't listened to the voices of his people. We still don't have a genuine democracy in our country," said Jang Dae-hyun, a spokesman for a civic group that has organized protests.

Police said they will mobilize about 21,000 riot police in Seoul and barricade roads leading to the presidential Blue House.

Rallies against the deal turned violent Sunday and the government said it will take tougher steps against protesters if the violence continues.

Lee's government said it has asked the U.S. not to export beef from older cattle - considered at greater risk of mad cow disease - but rejected calls for a complete renegotiation of the accord, citing possible diplomatic and trade disputes with the U.S.

Lee dispatched several delegations of officials to Washington on Monday to seek assurances the U.S. will not ship beef from cattle older than 30 months, even though that is allowed under the agreement.

The beef issue has confounded the conservative, pro-U.S. Lee, who took office in February after a landslide election victory in December on pledges to boost the economy and bolster ties with Washington.

Both Seoul and Washington insist U.S. beef is safe, citing the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health. Protesters say they can't trust what Lee says.

Scientists say mad cow disease 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 illness is linked to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare and fatal malady.

[travelling4]

This is the US own fault. If you have followed the events leading up to this, on at least two separate occassions, US beef was allowed into Korea with some conditions that the parts of the beef that are most likely to harbor mad cow disease not be exported to Korea. Needless to say, these prohibited parts were found and that is why this ban has been in place.

[oneworldusa]

frankbowers-

If the US ever gets to the point where people have to eat dogs and cats and rats to live, it will be a horrible, terrible situation.

On the other hand, if it meant the difference between starvation and survival, I suppose we would all do it too. I get your point. It must have been horrifying.

[frankbowers]

It appears Korea has come a long way since the late 50''s and early 60''s when I servced up at CC 2 byt the 38. they eat dog, rat ,cat, and any other kind of meat the could find. I recall seeing them eat thre guts of a dog raw in a stream of water where they had slaughter several dogs that morning the kids enjoy it and it reminded me of a candy thing when I was young, tafia pulls at church.
Frank Bowers of the old 5th Cal. in Korea from 1959 - 61 Hq and Hq S-4 and Transportation.

[vietnam21]

Thanks for the Bush-McCain policies of the past eight years, nobody appreciates American anymore ... we''''ve got a lot of work to do to re-build the American "brand" around the world.

Posted by emelder

why are you guys Dems. love to blame on Bush,

[vietnam21]

send them dog meat instead

[roach9703]

The State Department and some committees of Congress should consider changing or clarifying parts of this meat agreement. This can be done in consultation with the South Korans including those who don''t like our beef.
With the fever for re-unification growing, it is important that we respect the South Koreans and their feelings about our beef exports. Respect is very important now if we expect to be a player in future Korean politics.

[johnstossel]

Let them eat steak!!!

[emelder]

Thanks for the Bush-McCain policies of the past eight years, nobody appreciates American anymore ... we''ve got a lot of work to do to re-build the American "brand" around the world.

[tootall10142]

flukem,feed em fishheads.the little bashtords can live off air .

[oneworldusa]

If they don''t want American beef, don''t bother to try and ship it. We may need that food here soon. Besides, raising the demand for beef is going to raise prices on our ribeyes and new york strips which we like to enjoy twice a week.

[panhandlpete]

Only HALF of the real story is told. As someone eluded in a post.......this is just a trade manipulation for a better price. For those who eat beef, enjoy it while you can, for soon it will be more difficult to get. The cost of ammonia fertilizer (due to oil prices) needed for pastures has tripled in cost making the beef farmers cut back on herd size, even forcing many to quit.

If there was "country of origin" labeling on meat, as required by law in this country but not enforced, then the sensible thing to do would be let the user make their informed choice to eat or not eat.

There are folks who simply want to eliminate meat from our diets, and to those folks I have a direct message, eat what you like BUT let me do the same.....I like beef as a meat choice.

[feelfree4u]

MMMMMmmmmmm....downerburgers......

[aak895]

just a corredtion alphaa10, Canada notified the U.S when a cow had tested postive for BSE but the animal was never shipped or made it into the food chain. The BSE postive animals are of your own making. Lets not forget the plant in California where "downer cows" routinely where put in the food chain.

[capnfrog-2009]

Don''t see what is the big deal unless you just love to protest. If you don''t want to eat American beef then don''t buy it. If the demand is not there by the consumers, the american beef growers won''t ship it. By protesting you are trying to deny others the right to choose what they want to eat. What if others protested food to be served in Korea that was fertilized with human feces? There would be a lot of hungry Koreans.

[tiredofthebs]

Yet another exported product from America that nobody wants.

[feelfree4u]

Re: "U.S. Beef Plagues S. Korean Government"

They''re not alone.

[neo267-2009]

South Korea is just getting what they deserve after backing down to one insane protest after another. It''s what happens when you let the inmates run the asylum.

[alphaa10-2009]

All posters but dragonwagon$ saw this as a trade dispute with an ungracious South Korea.

But memories are so short-- the US in laggardly fashion applied an embargo on Canadian beef after a BSE cow was shipped from Canada to the US, and was butchered into the American meat supply.

Americans were understandably furious that Bush USDA appointee Anne Veneman even hesitated on the embargo measure. To compound her mistake, Veneman tried a feeble PR gesture on behalf on US meat growers and to show her political loyalty to Bush-- she announced she intended to serve her family beef for the holidays.

Clearly, the Japanese as well as South Koreans have every right to protect their people from the spread of BSE, the profits of American beef farmers notwithstanding.

We Americans cannot criticize Asian countries for lead in toys, melamine in pet food, etc., when Bush and his USDA insist on feeding Asians suspect US beef.

USDA should end its denial and stalling tactics and fix the problem, which is, first and foremost, the lack of enough inspectors. Two years after the 2003-2004 BSE scare, Veneman announced inspections of beef would be cut to a tenth of its former level. Veneman deserves the public distrust for which she has worked so hard.

[incog-nito]

To all the bashers: The Koreans can choose to decide what they eat. Get it? Is that too hard to understand? If they eat dog, that''s their business. They''re not selling it to you. If they don''t want to buy U.S. beef, that''s also their business. If Americans don''t want to buy Hyundais, that''s fine too.

Then again, Hyundais are selling pretty well in America.

[brundage3]

I served in Korea. I am ashamed to read these few |gly americans"comments. You actually think we "basicly feed"the Koreans eh? How dumb a comment.

And if you think so harcshly of the minority of Koreans who are concerned about the safety of imported beef, how can you acuse THEM of being racist or dumb? My God.

And to work in an American restaraunt does NOT make you expert in any minor form even, on the quality of our EXPORTED meat by the time it reaches consumers a full oceqan and thousands of miles away.

And by the way, if you take the little time it takes to read history, you will see that South Korea has been a better "friend"to us than any other nation over the full course of the last 50 years.

Many of us who saw the conduct of our fellow soldiers toward the Korean women, merchants, farmers and others. are not so arrogant about how much better "we"are than "them."