Riots Break Out In Seoul Over U.S. Beef

Candlelight Vigils Devolved Into Violent Clashes Between Protesters And Police, Government Says

(AP)  U.S. beef returned to South Korean store shelves Tuesday under a new import agreement that has failed to stem anti-government protests, which have raged for weeks and turned central Seoul into a riot zone.

The government said it would take tough action to stop the increasingly violent rallies, which began two months ago with schoolgirls holding candlelight vigils. But the protests have lately also seen club-wielding demonstrators trying to break through barricades of police buses under showers of water cannons.

"What began as a peaceful candlelight rally has changed in nature to a point where it is difficult to see any purity" in its cause, Prime Minister Han Seung-soo told a Cabinet meeting, according to a government Web site.

This week, a prominent Catholic group joined the rallies, with priests and nuns also protesting at a plaza in front of city hall. Some 3,000 people gathered there Tuesday evening, police said, and no clashes were immediately reported.

American beef went on sale earlier Tuesday without any fanfare and was limited to 440 pounds at a store run by the head of the Korea Meat Import Association.

Large supermarket chains have said they would not sell American beef due to the negative public sentiment, and restaurants across the country have said they would not serve it. South Korean branches of U.S. fast food chain McDonald's is broadly advertising that they use Australian beef, not American.

South Korea was the third-largest overseas market for U.S. beef until it banned imports after a case of mad cow disease was detected in 2003, the first of three confirmed cases in the United States. South Korea's new pro-U.S. President Lee Myung-bak agreed to lift the import ban in April just before a summit with President Bush.

But the move provoked a backlash over health concerns spurred in part by false media reports about risks, along with a sense that South Korea had bowed too easily to American pressure. U.S. meat has been certified as safe to consume by the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health.

As the protests peaked in June at 80,000 people, the Cabinet offered to resign and Lee reshuffled top aides. Seoul negotiated an amendment to the import deal last month to limit shipments to beef from cattle younger than 30 months, believed less susceptible to mad cow disease.

While the moves appeared to placate some and the number of protesters has declined, the government has expressed increasing concern about raucous demonstrations fueled by groups opposed to the democratically elected Lee, who took office in February.

Left-leaning trade unions and civic groups have criticized Lee for failing to seek public consensus before going ahead with the import agreement. The rallies have also become a platform for activists to voice other complaints about Lee's policy agenda, with some hoisting placards blasting Lee's plans to privatize state-run corporations, build a cross-country inland waterway and strengthen English education.

Prime Minister Han called on authorities to "employ all means allowed by law to root out illegal, violent rallies and restore the order of law."

He also said the nation's economic situation "has worsened by an unimaginable degree" as the rallies were turning away foreign investors and diminishing the country's international standing.

"Anyone can feel that an economic crisis is slowly approaching," Han said.

[whiskyrocker]

I spent several years in Seoul and let me tell you these people know how to riot. It''s too bad the US doesn''t do the same.

[lambor59]

US beef is infected with mad cow disease for sure, Bush is one patient the others are 50% of Americans who voted for Bush also were infected, that''s why we have a crazy prez at the top.... let''s not forgetting the ugly *** who also infected with this deadly disease her ugly name is Condoleeza Rice, this *** is so ugly that I vomited when I see her face...Cheney is infected with the disease too, he could not even hold his hunting gun straight...I wish these patients need some shi...t juice....real soon.
After all, the Koreans are smart....real smart.

[vietnam21]

Posted by Impeach__W
You are uneducated person...GOOD BYE.

[vietnam21]

I put this post up and bought tons of guns and did not vote for bush - more that most wise people. What did you do?

Posted by Impeach__W

OOh I''m scare, Exactly what I thought.

[tbweb]

If they do not want US beef then do not buy it.

Posted by IOWEIGN at 05:03 PM : Jul 01, 2008,,,

Exactly! I think there is too much common sense in just not buying imported U.S. Beef, riots make more sense in freedom of choice Korea! Are they being forced to buy it, if not the riots are a bunch of bull (pun intended!).

[vietnam21]

Posted by Impeach__W and Clinton are bunch of morons

[vietnam21]

First we send them bad beef and now even worse, Bad Rice! (Condi)
Too bad we Americans are too lazy to care about the safety of our food. The Mad cow test is cheap and effective. Even the korean McD''''s needs the good stuff. Where''''s the beef?

Posted by Impeach__W

DR Rice have more education than u., what have you done for your Country ????

[noloyalisti]

When corporations take over the United States government and the right wing privatization wackos get rid of government oversight, you will have problems. Time for the people to take it back!!!!

[standncount]

South Korean scientist just announced they successfully cloned a dog!
They don''t want U.S. beef, they want to grow their own food!

[vortex1001]

Guess the Koreans have seen how mad the Americans and heve decided they want nothing to do with Mad american beef.......them Koreans are smart people

[pugster]

This makes the olympic torch run 2 months ago civil.

[forasongca]

Sounds like PETA is at it again...

[ioweign]

If they do not want US beef then do not buy it.

If we do not want KIAs and Hyundais, we will not buy them.

[toolmangler-2009]

Let them eat cake (mud). send the beef to me, I am not afraid of it

[johnstossel]

P.S. MEOW!!!!!

[liberalme]

Would they prefer collie, retriever, poodle, what?

Posted by dragonwagon5

I think they like cats--don''t see any pictures of cats in Korea.

[vietnam21]

They don''t want beef, they want dog burgers.