[Onthebarricades] KOREA protests against free trade, analysis and general coverage

[Andy]

ON THE BARRICADES – Global Resistance Roundup, April-August 2008
https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/onthebarricades
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/globalresistance/

South Korea has been gripped by a months-long wave of demonstrations over 
the resumption of imports of American beef, deemed by social movements to be 
a risk of importing mad cow disease.  The beef issue is a catalyst for 
broader anger about free trade with America, the policies of the current 
conservative government and the exclusion of popular movements from power.





http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/JF13Dg01.html

Party time at South Korea's protest 2.0
By Sunny Lee

SEOUL - This is strange. Even as anti-government demonstrations in South 
Korea go, this is an odd, odd scene. Even a foreigner thinks so. "I have 
never seen anything like this before," said Jeff Lazar, an American activist 
observing the ongoing protests here over the import of beef from the United 
States. "It's like a festival. They are even using a laser projector to 
write their protest words in the air. It's effective because it's fun. It's 
also a sure attention-grabber," he adds.

South Korea's infamously combative street protests have taken an unexpected, 
and sometimes amusing, turn. It has become much more peaceful, but, mind 
you, that's a relative term compared with previous practices. For example, 
during the 40-day-long candlelight demonstration that started on May 2 - 
when 15,000 students unexpectedly took to the streets - and up to this 
Tuesday which commemorated the June 10 Democracy Movement in 1987 that had 
bid farewell to the decades of military rule, only one person has lost his 
life.

And the deceased was not killed because of a bloody clash with the riot 
police, but because he set himself on fire.

Like any good festival, some people have come out wearing interesting 
costumes. Lee Dong-keun, a 19-year-old freshman at Korea University, and a 
classmate wear identical full-body tiger outfits. "I got a lot of pictures 
taken by media people," said Lee with pride.

And the streets themselves are much cleaner because of people like Cho 
Eun-mi, who volunteers to pick up trash, including empty soda cans, water 
bottles and pieces of torn slogan-bearing placards. "I know some people 
frown on the protesters. They think streets get dirty after protests. So I 
thought if I made the street less dirty by picking up trash, then those 
people might also get less upset," Cho said.

The most commonly seen slogans are variations on "No to US beef!" But people 
seem equally, if not more, upset about President Lee Myung-bak. "The 
President Lee said he would serve people. I think he's not doing it. So, I 
am protesting," said tiger-suited Lee.

Mahbub Alam from Bangladesh said of the street protests: "I get the feeling 
that the issue is not just about the beef. The American beef is rather a 
symbol for people to snub President Lee, who they feel is snubbing them."

Besides the lack of violence, what is surprising - even to South Koreans - 
is that there is no organizer for the already weeks-long demonstration. 
People took to the streets and formed ad hoc protest groups, usually around 
6pm or 7pm each day. This has been bewildering to South Korean civil 
society, labor unions and opposition politicians - the usual players in such 
public protests. Tuesday's rally was the first officially organized protest 
and had the biggest turnout - police estimate 105,000 demonstrators, while 
the organizers said the number was closer to 500,000.

Still, one might think it was some kind of mass picnic, until you spot the 
riot police standing stiff, waiting for a crackdown order. Some people are 
holding impromptu concerts complete with guitars and violins, singing and 
dancing. In some cases, entire families have arrived to literally "camp out" 
in the middle of traffic. Of course they brought tents with them.

Other "protesters" have brought hot coffee to serve anyone who needs it. And 
high school students have given out roses to riot police, a move that 
definitely brings down the tension level. Some are distributing water 
bottles to the aggressive "frontliners" who usually shout more and work up a 
justified thirst. There are even volunteer medics walking around, shouting 
"Does anybody need help?"

Young couples use the protest for a romantic outing. They march with hands 
held tight, and the other hand holding a candle. Local TV footage has shown 
a man celebrating his girlfriend's birthday with a protest-candle cake. 
Other "demonstrators" have brought an outdoor movie projector and are 
showing the US documentary Sicko.

With the party atmosphere in full swing, the street vendors are enjoying a 
heyday of extra money and unusual business hours. It's 2am, and here they 
are selling kimbob (Korean sushi) or bundaegi (roasted silkworm larvae) 
right in the middle of roads that have been declared "no-traffic zones" by 
protesters who're occupying them.

This is South Korea's street protests 2.0. Or, perhaps, South Korea's 
"postmodern" demonstrations. With some Koreans mistrustful of mainstream 
media reports on the demonstration, they've taken matters into their own 
hands by broadcasting and reporting themselves. Using high-speed wireless 
Internet, some "embedded" citizens are using their own laptops and 
camcorders to broadcast real-time events. There are "citizen reporters" 
conducting interviews and taking pictures and posting them on their personal 
blogs and Internet forums. In fact, these news hounds have been so effective 
that some established newspapers have begun quoting them.

With no leaders leading, the protest might be considered "ineffective". 
People are protesting individually, shouting different slogans, marching in 
different directions; different people with different agendas. Some shout 
"2MB", the lowest speed unit of computer processing and also the initials of 
President Lee, sarcastically pointing out how slow Lee is in understanding 
the people's will.

Lee, who won the presidency in December with a record 5-million vote margin 
over runner-up Chung Dong-young, saw his popularity plunge below 20% by the 
time he marked his 100th day in office last week - another record in South 
Korea's recent decades. In fact, Lee has recently become so controversial a 
figure that the Korean edition of Wikipedia, the online participatory 
encyclopedia, decided to freeze any further revision on "Lee Myung-bak" for 
the next four months, fearing malicious attempts to distort the "facts" on 
him that have yet to be settled.

In this unusual protest, there are some unusual chants as well. "Turn away 
from your evil sin and turn to God," shouts a 40ish woman waving a Bible. 
"Take President Lee to God. I pray that God takes Lee out of the planet 
quickly," a man shouts back. Not far away, Roh Eun-jung, 28, a web designer 
chants: "Non-violence! Keep non-violence!"

Meanwhile, those who have earned an appetite after hours of street 
protesting yell, "We want food!" This mantra received echoes and giggles 
from sympathetic comrades throughout the crowd.

For the police, this unorganized rabble - ranging from a uniformed 
high-school student to a 57-year-old housewife, who said she came out "to 
change the world" - is easier to manage than a well-organized and militant 
group of protesters led by a strident leader. This self-appointed mob, 
however, does tend to stick around longer. And why not? It's 4am now in 
Seoul's main Gwanghwamun area and there are still quite a number of 
candle-holders milling about.

A police officer, asked when all this was likely to end, said: "I have no 
idea because this is an organization where there is no organizer." The 
conversation was then interrupted by a man holding out a cup of silkworm 
larvae to the officer. "Please, eat and keep up the good work!" the man 
says. A lady next him agreed: "We love you, police officer!" Surely, even 
love is possible in this wondrous war zone.

But things aren't so lovely all the time. As the protests have stretched 
into weeks, the familiar protest tools such as steel pipes and rocks have 
also surfaced, spelling an omen for possible violence and bloodshed.

For example, Friday will mark the sixth anniversary of the death of two 
Korean middle school girls who were run over by a US armored vehicle - a 
very emotional issue for many South Koreans. What is also worrisome is that 
the month of June in South Korea is traditionally a season for annual labor 
protests.

Already some labor groups have designated June 16 as a walk-out day. Then 
comes June 25, the Korean War Memorial Day. It's likely that the rightist 
groups will take to the streets at that time to protest against the leftist 
groups, who they believe are fooled by Pyongyang and sympathetic towards 
North Korea.

There will be many more pickets, chants, roses, candles, silkworm larvae and 
DVDs - it won't be a quiet month.

Some people call the recent lack of violence in protests as "democratic 
progress". They also see it as a social experiment in South Korea's 
deepening democratic experience. Hardline "old school" protesters, however, 
view it as "a picnic that doesn't change the nation". They argue that a 
street demonstration should be more forceful, with a clear set of actions 
designed to get concessions from the government. They believe that after the 
decades of military rule ended, a noisy protest is still the best way to 
make one's voice heard.

Amid this raucous imbroglio, it was a foreigner who saw the silver lining. 
"I think it will eventually help the country's democratic progress. People 
will find a point of convergence where they can begin a constructive 
dialogue," said Mahbub Alam from Bangladesh. "They just need some time to 
sort things out."

Sunny Lee, a native of Seoul, worked for the United Nations and as a 
journalist and writer. Lee is a graduate of Harvard University and Beijing 
Foreign Studies University.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f054f9dc-4925-11dd-9a5f-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

Stalled in Seoul: How protests have humbled South Korea’s ‘Bulldozer’
By Anna Fifield and Victor Mallet
Published: July 3 2008 19:28 | Last updated: July 3 2008 19:28
When Lee Myung-bak was preparing to take office as South Korea’s president 
in February, one of his top priorities was to dispatch a team of repairmen 
to Daebul industrial park in the south of the country.

Seoul struggles to defuse US beef protests - Jul-02
Comment: A paradoxical free trade agreement - Jun-14
S Korea-US trade deal clears hurdle - Jun-29
US beef back in South Korea - Apr-23
US and S Korea in landmark trade deal - Apr-03
US, S Korea struggle to reach trade pact - Apr-02
An electricity pole had fallen over some five years before, inconveniencing 
the truck drivers who had to navigate around it every day. What should have 
been a matter for the local council suddenly became one for the highest 
office in the land. The incoming president made a few calls and had the pole 
removed, an act that his team heralded as a sign of the new administration’s 
can-do attitude.
Indeed, the act speaks volumes about Mr Lee’s presidency. Elected with a 
landslide victory and a strong mandate to overhaul Asia’s fourth biggest 
economy, Mr Lee’s strength was his proven record as a Mr Fix-it. As chief 
executive of Hyundai Construction, he turned the company into an 
international force. As Seoul mayor, he made significant progress towards 
making the capital an international city.
But the man once known as “The Bulldozer” has found out all too painfully 
that the gritty business of building roads and installing bus lanes is a lot 
easier than the sensitive, consultative task of running an energetic 
democracy. With even some of his supporters calling him politically naive, 
Mr Lee’s first months in office have been mired in controversy – from his 
choice of senior staff and his handling of a US beef import agreement to his 
privatisation plans and efforts to promote English in schools.
The public response has been intense. Taking as a rallying point the 
president’s decision fully to resume imports of US beef – suspended in 2003 
after a scare over BSE, the “mad cow” disease – thousands of Koreans have 
been protesting in the streets for two months. The demonstrations have now 
turned violent: protesters have been attacking police and torching their 
barricade buses.
Businesses are complaining about the disruption. This week, shop owners in 
central Seoul even protested against the protesters, wielding placards 
exhorting, “Fellow citizens, please think about us!” Images of rioters have 
been beamed around the world, causing consternation in the US in particular 
and prompting some business delegations to delay visits to Seoul.
“The daily protests are making foreign investors avoid direct investment in 
Korea and also discouraging investment by domestic businesses,” Han 
Seung-soo, the prime minister, warned this week. “The credibility of South 
Korea’s economy is worsening rapidly.”
A further worry for investors is a battle over Korea Exchange Bank, the 
country’s fifth-biggest lender. Lone Star, the US private equity fund, wants 
to sell KEB to HSBC of the UK but the deal is being blocked by protracted 
legal disputes. Foreign fund managers have told the FT they are holding off 
making large investments in South Korea until some certainty returns to the 
regulatory environment.
Net foreign direct investment turned negative in the first quarter for the 
first time in two years, with $670m (£340m, €430m) being withdrawn from 
Korea, according to the central bank. Business executives in Seoul express 
concern that Korea is heading in the wrong direction and is becoming 
increasingly protectionist. “Korea is snatching defeat from the jaws of 
victory,” says one foreign banker, asking not to be named.
The bilateral trade deal with the US, supposed to stimulate the economy, has 
become bogged down amid political wrangling and looks unlikely to be 
ratified any time soon. The deal was projected to create about 340,000 jobs 
and boost gross domestic product by more than 6 per cent over a decade.
The upheaval could hardly have come at a worse time. South Korea’s economic 
growth is slowing, inflation is surging and the currency is weakening: the 
one-time Asian tiger has lost its roar. Data published this week showed 
inflation, at 5.5 per cent, reaching the highest annual rate in almost a 
decade. Everyone from the Bank of Korea to the International Monetary Fund 
has cut growth forecasts for 2008 GDP to the 4 per cent range, which is 
still respectable but is much lower than the 6 per cent Mr Lee promised for 
the year.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/06/02/business/NA-FIN-US-Beef-Labeling.php

US companies announce plans to label beef bound for S. Korea with cattle's 
age after protests

The Associated Press
Published: June 2, 2008

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas: Several U.S. beef companies said Monday they will 
begin labeling shipments to South Korea to note how old slaughtered cattle 
were at the time of their death, responding to weekend protests over fears 
that U.S. beef imports carry a risk of mad cow disease.
Springdale-based Tyson Foods Inc., as well as Cargill Meat Solutions Corp., 
JBS Swift & Co., National Beef Packing Co. and Smithfield Beef Group Inc., 
said the labels would show whether the cattle were younger or older than 30 
months when slaughtered. The companies said in a joint news release that it 
would be up to South Korean customers to decide whether to purchase the meat 
or not.
Younger cows are believed to be less at risk for mad cow disease.
U.S beef has been banned by South Korea for most of the past 4 1/2 years 
over fears of mad cow disease. The South Korean Agriculture Ministry said in 
April it would begin loosening restrictions on U.S. beef imports, beginning 
with imports from cattle younger than 30 months.
Last week, the ministry announced that the government had finalized new 
regulations that call for South Korea to import nearly all cuts of American 
beef without restrictions on the cattle's age.

Nearly 60,000 people took to the streets of Seoul over the weekend to 
denounce the government and call for the import agreement to be scrapped, 
and South Korea announced Monday that it would delay its planned resumption 
of U.S. beef imports.
"We're making this offer in response to the concerns of some South Korean 
consumers by voluntarily implementing this temporary labeling program as a 
way of ensuring the reopening of the market and attempting to rebuild the 
confidence of the South Korean consumer," Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson 
said.
For Tyson, the world's largest meat producer, the loss of the South Korean 
market four years ago tore away its third-largest export location, behind 
Japan and Canada. In 2003, South Korea represented 15 percent of its $2.2 
billion (€1.42 billion) international sales, Mickelson said. Last year, the 
company reported international sales of $1.9 billion (€1.22 billion).
Mark Klein, a spokesman for Minneapolis-based Cargill, declined to discuss 
the share of its export sales formerly represented by South Korea but 
described the market as "one of the leading destinations for U.S. beef."
"It was a very good customer," Klein said. "We're trying to demonstrate we 
want their business."
Under the companies' plan, the labels would be used for up to 120 day. 
Mickelson said the companies were still working out how the labels would 
look and where they would be placed on boxes.
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 2003, South Korea joined Japan in banning U.S. beef imports after a cow 
in Washington state tested positive for mad cow disease. Officials later 
determined the cow had been born in Canada.
Japan lifted its ban in 2005 but imposed it again in January 2006 after an 
import violation. U.S. beef shipments to Japan resumed in July 2006, but 
sales became a fraction of what they once were.
In humans, eating meat products contaminated with the cattle disease is 
linked to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare and fatal malady.
There have been three cases of that disease reported from the U.S., 
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but none of 
them are believed to have gotten it from eating beef in the U.S. The CDC 
said it thinks there is strong evidence that two of the cases contracted the 
disease while living in the U.K. and one while living in Saudi Arabia.
Two of the cases resulted in fatalities.
Americans consumed 28.1 billion pounds of beef in 2007, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture data show.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200806/200806300027.html

The Government Is Hiding Behind Riot Police
Street protests between June 28 and 29 were the most violent of the 
demonstrations that have continued for some 40 days. Protesters wielded 
steel pipes and threw pieces of metal, rocks and even acid at riot police. 
The scene was reminiscent of the turbulent 1980s, except that Molotov 
cocktails were absent this time. Indeed, former student activists from the 
era took part in the protests under the banner of former members of the 
radical National University Student Council or “Jeondaehyup.” The overnight 
protests left 112 police officers wounded. One riot police officer suffered 
a crushed skull.
The protests are expected to continue this week. The People’s Association 
for Measures Against Mad Cow Disease has designated July 1-6 as a week of 
“victory for the people” and planned a major demonstration for July 5. 
Wednesday is when the umbrella group Korean Confederation of Trade Unions 
has planned a nationwide strike. This is becoming simply intolerable. People 
from around the world who come to Seoul are amazed as they watch the violent 
protests in the heart of the capital every day. The National Assembly 
officially started a month ago, but sessions have yet to begin. It’s been 20 
days since the entire Cabinet tendered their resignations. The nerve center 
of the nation has been broken into pieces in front of thousands of 
protesters and government has virtually come to a halt.
On the frontlines are young men clad in masks who throw stones and fire 
slingshots at police and recently began to use cutting machines to take 
police buses apart. On Saturday afternoon, three police water trucks were 
demolished after being surrounded by protesters in front of City Hall. On 
Sunday morning, one police platoon was cut off from the rest of the troops 
by protesters wielding steel pipes and sticks and were assaulted.
Debate sites on Internet portals are filled with incendiary pieces of 
writing urging others to “bear arms now,” “manufacture Molotov cocktails,” 
“come out with heavy equipment” and to attack the Grand National Party 
headquarters and police stations. There was even an incident where a member 
of a leftwing party was arrested after posting a fabricated story on an 
Internet portal saying a female protester was dragged to a police bus and 
gang-raped.
The professional protesters, with years of experience, have already 
retreated to the rear by the time the police begin arresting people, and are 
never caught. The only people being arrested are overly excited ones like 
homeless people. Out of the six protesters who were arrested until Friday, 
three were jobless and two were itinerant laborers. The head of the violent 
crimes unit at the Namdaemun Police Station, who was tried in a kangaroo 
court organized by the protesters, pursued and finally arrested a protester 
who turned violent at a hotel during an earlier protest. He turned out to be 
a semi-itinerant man with no permanent job.
One female owner of a restaurant in Gwanghwamun pleaded with protesters not 
to damage her store. The protesters responded by hurling abuse at her and 
told her to go and talk to the president. After the protesters had gone 
away, the owner took photographs of her damaged restaurant, but she had no 
idea who to go to in order to seek compensation. These are the incidents 
that have been taking place for the last month while the cowardly government 
has been hiding behind riot police.

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/programguide/stories/200806/s2262930.htm

Protests escalate in South Korea over US beef imports
Updated Mon Jun 2, 2008 7:30pm AEST

There's been more clashes and more arrests in Seoul as anti U-S beef 
protestors continue to take to the streets. The protests escalated after 
Seoul agreed to lift its intermittent ban on American beef imports.

Presenter: Sen Lam
Speakers: Bronwen Dalton, lecturer in the School of Management, University 
of Technology Sydney.
DALTON: It's tied actually to a plummeting popularity rating of the new 
president. His honeymoon is definitely over and in particular, many believe 
that this has been a sweeping victory for conservative politics and it's 
more the symbolism of re-engaging with and in progress his point of view kow 
towing to Washington that has many Koreans, particularly from the radical 
side, up in arms.

LAM: Do you think that these protests might be partly driven by politics, by 
President Lee Myung-bak's enemies?

DALTON: They have a history no doubt political rallies that are partly made 
up by rent a crowd. But what has happened is for the first time since Kim 
Dae-Jung, the progressives have lost any foothold, have been denied any 
foothold now in terms of political power. In the outcomes of the general 
election of 2007 and April 2008 rather can be summed up as a consecutive 
sweeping victory of conservatives, so it's really about trying to gain a 
voice, given they're denied a voice now in legislative circles.

LAM: And beef as you know is a major part of South Korean cuisine. So why 
don't South Koreans want a resumption of beef imports from the United 
States? Are they purely concerned about Mad Cow disease?

DALTON: No, I don't think so. South Korea banned the imports of US beef back 
in 2003. Mad Cow disease was cited as the main reason, but in a sense, it 
was a non-tariff trade barrier. Really driving it, is concerns about the 
viability of any kind of beef industry in Korea if these much cheaper 
imports come in. Also another form of non-tariff barrier to US imports is 
that they have only accepted very, very low grade beef, hamburger beef and 
quite fatty dairy cow beef into the market. So actually, American beef has a 
very low reputation in terms of quality. But yeah it's more concerned about 
in the general population about bending to Washington's will and also with 
some groups about the future of rural Korea, even though that is only a very 
tiny proportion of the population these days, the highly urbanised society.

LAM: As you say, the move is seen as President Lee's attempts to try and 
please Washington. So may we broaden the issue a bit, that the people are 
perhaps not happy to see Lee Myung-bak moving closer to the US as opposed to 
his predecessor?

DALTON: Yes, one of the great points of contention between the US, 
especially the Bush administration and the previous administration in South 
Korea, was with regard to how they engage with North Korea and the rhetoric 
of "axis of evil", global war against terror, and quite a hawkish stance on 
North Korea from Washington was in many ways with odds with, particularly 
the Sunshine Policy, but even after that there was concerns that that was a 
far to inflammatory sort of approach to North-South relations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/12/world/asia/12seoul.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

An Anger in Korea Over More Than Beef

By CHOE SANG-HUN
Published: June 12, 2008
Correction Appended
SEOUL, South Korea — When tens of thousands of South Koreans spilled into 
central Seoul on Tuesday in the country’s largest antigovernment protest in 
20 years, the police built a barricade with shipping containers. They coated 
them with oil and filled them with sandbags so protesters could not climb or 
topple them to march on President Lee Myung-bak’s office a couple of blocks 
away.
Protesters in Seoul, South Korea, expressed their anger behind a barricade 
of shipping containers that had been erected to keep them from the president’s 
office.

Faced with the wall, people pasted identical leaflets on it, their message 
dramatically summarizing Mr. Lee’s image and alienation from many of his 
people: “This is a new border for our country. From here starts the U.S. 
state of South Korea.”
In the background, a female voice from a battery of loudspeakers led the 
crowd to chant: “Lee Myung-bak is Lee Wan-yong!”
Lee Wan-yong is an infamous name every South Korean child knows. A royal 
court minister at the turn of the last century who helped Imperial Japan 
annex Korea as a colony, he is Korea’s No. 1 national traitor.
The protests illuminate the shift in President Lee’s political fortunes. 
When he was elected last December, South Koreans hailed him as a 
long-awaited leader who could salvage their country’s alliance with the 
United States, which was strained under Mr. Lee’s left-leaning predecessor, 
Roh Moo-hyun.
Only six months later, Mr. Lee finds Koreans vilifying him as something Mr. 
Roh famously said he would never become: “a Korean leader kowtowing to the 
Americans.”
“While championing a pragmatic leadership, Mr. Lee overlooked Koreans’ 
nationalistic pride,” said Choi Jin, director of the Institute of 
Presidential Leadership in Seoul. “If what troubled Roh’s presidency was too 
much nationalism, Lee’s problem is a lack of it.”
The chants showed that the demonstration was not merely about the president’s 
unpopular decision to lift an import ban on American beef. It also tapped 
into Korean pride.
This is a small country in a strategic location with a deep sense of 
grievance about being manipulated by the great powers around it. Chinese 
emperors demanded tribute from Korea; Japanese occupiers forbade Koreans to 
speak their own language; American, Chinese and Russian cold war rivalries 
divided Korea in two. While mostly approving of their alliance with the 
United States, South Koreans remain acutely sensitive to any suggestion that 
they must do America’s bidding.
Mr. Lee’s slumping popularity was sown in his first glorious moment as 
president.
On April 19, he became the first South Korean leader to be invited to the 
United States presidential retreat of Camp David, Md. Days before the visit, 
his aides billed the meeting with President Bush as a momentous event — one 
that never would have been granted to leaders like Mr. Roh, who was often 
accused of being too nationalistic and anti-American.
South Koreans who had fought alongside the Americans during the Korean War 
in the early 1950s took to the streets in joy. They trusted Mr. Lee to save 
the country from what they called “leftist, anti-U.S. and pro-North Korean 
elements,” like Mr. Roh.
On the eve of the summit meeting, Seoul agreed to lift a five-year-old ban 
on American beef imports, imposed after a case of mad cow disease was 
confirmed in the United States. By traveling with a political gift for Mr. 
Bush, Mr. Lee demonstrated how eager he was to rebuild ties with Washington.
Little did he apparently imagine the reaction at home, among young South 
Koreans who had been watching with a cold eye.
“What he did was little different from an old Korean king offering tribute 
to a Chinese emperor,” said Kim Sook-yi, a 35-year-old homemaker who joined 
the protest on Tuesday with her two children. “This time, we give a tribute 
to Washington? It’s humiliating, bad for education for Korean children.”
The demonstrations began on May 2, when hundreds of teenagers held a 
candlelight vigil in Seoul, and quickly snowballed. By this week they had 
become so overpowering that the entire cabinet offered to resign.
Foreign bloggers watching the brouhaha ask: Why would thousands of South 
Koreans join protests about mad cow disease but not ask why Americans are 
not protesting American beef? Would South Koreans demonstrate with the same 
intensity if the beef came from Australia or New Zealand? What about 
Korean-Americans who eat American beef?
To many South Koreans, however, the beef dispute is not entirely about 
health concerns or science. It is not entirely about the economy, either — 
beef from the United States is half the price of homegrown meat. To them, it 
is also the latest test of whether their leader can resist pressure from 
superpowers, even if there is good reason for the pressure, as is the case 
in the beef dispute. South Korea had promised to lift the ban once the World 
Organization for Animal Health ruled American beef fit for consumption, as 
it did in May last year.
South Korea has built the world’s 13th largest economy largely through 
exports. Nonetheless, historical resentments linger.
South Koreans in their 40s remember words from a popular childhood song 
handed down from their fathers and grandfathers: “Don’t be cheated by the 
Soviets. Don’t trust the Americans. Or the Japanese will rise again.” 
Koreans still chafe at the fact that the United States and the Soviet Union 
divided Korea after liberating it from Japanese colonial rule at the end of 
World War II.

Whether a South Korean leader can navigate this current of nationalistic 
sentiment can make or break his career.
When two South Korean teenage girls were killed by an American military 
armored vehicle six years ago, it first appeared to be nothing more than a 
tragic traffic accident. But many young Koreans who had grown to regard the 
American military presence with humiliation rallied in protest.
Mr. Roh, a relative political neophyte, quickly rode the wave into election 
victory.
But South Koreans soon grew tired of Mr. Roh’s ideological pronouncements, 
which often strained the alliance with the United States. They gave a 
landslide victory to Mr. Lee, who promised to bring pragmatism into the 
presidency.
“Lee was overconfident,” said Kang Won-taek, a professor of political 
science at Soongsil University. “He thought since people rejected Roh, he 
could go just the opposite.”
Many experts in Seoul draw a careful line between nationalism and 
anti-Americanism among Koreans. They say the recent series of demonstrations 
were more an expression of the former than the latter. But the divide gets 
thin sometimes.
Alexander Vershbow, the United States ambassador in South Korea, got a taste 
of the simmering anti-American sentiment when he emphasized the safety of 
American beef last week. “We hope that Koreans will begin to understand more 
about the science and about the facts of American beef,” he said.
The next day, politicians and protesters called the comment an “insult to 
all Korean citizens.”
Jeon Sang-il, a sociologist at Sogang University, said the men seemed to 
have shot themselves in the foot.
“These days, Koreans say there are only two anti-Americans in South Korea,” 
Mr. Jeon said. “One is Lee Myung-bak and the other Vershbow. They stoked 
anti-American sentiments with what they did and what they said.”
Mr. Vershbow expressed regret that he was misunderstood.

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2891892

Seoulites gobble greens as mad cow protests rage

July 04, 2008
Food safety fears sparked by Korea’s resumption of U.S. beef imports are a 
headache for the government but good news for vegetarian restaurants.

Restaurants and markets specializing in green and organic food reported 
yesterday increasing numbers of customers amid two months of protests over 
the imports.

Opponents say U.S. beef carries a risk of the human form of mad cow disease 
while the Washington and Seoul governments insist the meat is safe.

“The number of customers has almost doubled as fears over mad cow perils 
have gripped the nation,” Kim So-yeon, a manager of SM Vegetarian Buffet in 
Seoul’s southern Poidong District, told AFP. Apart from its restaurant 
business, takeaway customers are snapping up an assortment of vegetarian 
food products, including artificial meat made of soybean.

Choi Sun-hee, owner of New Start Vegetarian Restaurant in the city’s Daechi 
District, said vegetarian food is drawing new customers, especially young 
people.

“When I opened this restaurant 17 years ago, old people and the sick were 
the main customers. But nowadays, we have young mothers with kids, young 
couples and entire families visiting us,” she said.

“We’ve seen some 30 percent increase in the number of customers since the 
controversy over mad cow perils erupted.”

KBS TV said sales of vegetable were surging. A large market in Seoul 
reported a 14 percent increase in such sales over the past month.

“My children, having heard rumors [about mad cow perils], wouldn’t eat meat. 
So I’ve bought vegetarian food,” housewife Kim Jin-hye told the station.

Outlets dealing in organic and environmentally friendly food reported the 
number of customers also doubled, according to KBS. Seoul agreed in April to 
resume U.S. beef imports, which were halted in 2003 after a U.S. mad cow 
case, so it can push ahead with a wider trade deal.

After mass protests, it negotiated extra beef safeguards and called for the 
protests to stop. But the rallies, some of them violent, have continued. AFP

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200807/200807180007.html

Merchants File Protest Compensation Suit
Shopkeepers in the Gwanghwamun area of central Seoul filed a compensation 
lawsuit on Thursday against the organizers of the anti-American beef rallies 
over the loss of business caused by the protests.
Some 115 merchants are seeking W15 million (US$1=W1,013) per person with W10 
million in terms of compensation and W5 million in damages.
According to the retail owners in the downtown core the massive candlelight 
rallies that often led to violent clashes between demonstrators and police 
have led to a drop in the number of consumers visiting the area.
Arirang News

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200807/200807170022.html

Beef Protest Groups Given W650 Million in Subsidies
Seventy four civic groups who protested against imports of U.S. beef in 
sometimes violent street demonstration were allotted some W822 million in 
government aid this year (US$1=W1,009). Of this, they have already claimed 
W657 million. The first-phase subsidy was disbursed on May 30, around the 
time the candlelight vigils in central Seoul turned into illegal 
anti-government protests.
Citing data from the Public Administration and Security Ministry, ruling 
Grand National Party Rep. Shin Ji-ho on Wednesday said 74 of the recipients 
of subsidies for civic groups were members of the People's Association for 
Measures Against Mad Cow Disease, which is orchestrating the illegal 
protests. The association consisted of 1,839 groups as of July 6.
The association has for the past months occupied streets, set police buses 
on fire and assaulted officers, calling for a renegotiation of the beef 
agreement with the U.S. and the resignation of the Lee Myung-bak government 
besides a welter of other gripes.
In questions to the government, Shin said the ministry cannot escape 
criticism for providing state aid to violent organizations and letting 
taxpayers' money be used to destroy public order. Public Administration and 
Safety Minister Won Se-hoon responded the aid “was provided as planned 
because their illegal activities were not evident at the time. We're trying 
to confirm their participation in the protests with the police. If the aid 
is found to have been misused, we will retrieve it all."

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2892225

Papers disclose secrets behind street protests

July 12, 2008
Police yesterday released documents produced by anti-U.S. beef rally 
organizers that appear to show that the rallies were organized with the 
intent to bring down the Lee Myung-bak administration.

Police raided the office of the Korea Alliance for Progressive Movement and 
confiscated documents that were made during its meetings.

The documents recount discussions between leaders of various civic groups on 
the direction of anti-U.S. beef demonstrations.

The leaders included those from the Democratic Labor Party, Korean 
Confederation of Trade Unions, South Korean Federation of University Student 
Councils and Korea Alliance for Progressive Movement.

At a meeting, a leader put it simply:

“If Lee Myung-bak and the United States do not make a serious mistake, we 
have no choice but to wait until 2010. We need to foster a strong political 
opposition front by combining anti-American sentiments and President Lee’s 
faulty policies.”

“If we merely focus on demanding U.S. beef renegotiations, it can swamp our 
real intention, which is to bring down the Lee Myung-bak administration.”

Furthermore, there are suggestions in the papers of intent to paralyze 
downtown streets by encouraging citizens to participate in candlelight 
vigils at night and mobilizing their groups’ activists during the day.

Another leader suggested a week-long demonstration to swamp the downtown 
core of the city with demonstrators.

There were ideas thrown about by demonstration organizers to tie the South 
Korea-U.S. alliance issue into the protests.

“The moment we suggest why the Lee Myung-bak administration cannot 
renegotiate the beef deal, we can start to bring up our discontent towards 
the South Korea-U.S. alliance.”

Police believe the demonstrations started as peaceful candlelight vigils and 
later escalated into something more.

They also believe the demonstrations were masterminded from the beginning by 
members of various civic groups spearheaded by the Korea Alliance for 
Progressive Movement.

By Kang In-sik JoongAng Ilbo [enational at joongang.co.kr]

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200807/200807300020.html

Mad Cow Protesters Target Merchants
The People’s Association for Measures Against Mad Cow Disease revealed on 
its Internet homepage a legal document that shows the names and addresses of 
the 115 merchants who filed a damage compensation suit against the anti-U.S. 
beef group. The group has made it easy for others to find out the owners of 
which stores and restaurants in Gwanghwamun had filed the suit.
The motive is clear. They want to teach the merchants a lesson. Already, 
protesters have descended on the stores and restaurants of the merchants who 
filed the suit and have resorted to taking pictures and sitting in front of 
entrances, making it difficult for customers to enter. On its homepage, the 
association is filled with posting by people vowing to hold one-man protests 
in front of those stores so they’d go out of business or vowing to boycott 
them.
People running their own businesses are trying everything to survive slow 
economic conditions. On top of that, more than two straight months of mad 
cow protests in the Gwanghwamun area have led to snowballing losses. Roads 
have been blocked every day, while the streets were filled with violence. So 
the stream of customers had come to a grinding halt. Some restaurants say 
their sales have dropped to a tenth of what they used to be. Restaurants 
have had their signs destroyed, windows broken and their premises ruined by 
the trash left behind by the protesters. The people who led the mad cow 
protests should come and apologize on their knees and even that won’t be 
enough to compensate for the damage.
The association said it is customary for civil suits to be held in an open 
trial. It vehemently denied allegations that it was prodding its supporters 
to launch a boycott by posting the information about the plaintiffs on its 
homepage. When advertisers to newspapers critical of the mad cow hysteria 
were being threatened to pull their ads from those dailies, it had shrewdly 
provoked others to join in by asking its supporters to make phone calls 
“praising” those companies for advertising on those newspapers.
The merchants must not cave in to the threats and push ahead with their 
suit. They must create a precedent that those who lead illegal protests must 
bear the responsibility in the end. If not, then the pain and damage those 
merchants suffered will be repeated in the future.

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200807/200807300007.html

July.30,2008 09:33 KST

Police Won't Be Punished Over Street Protests: Minister

Public Administration and Safety Minister Won Se-hoon said Tuesday that he 
would not punish police for what he said was “fair and strict” enforcement 
of law, and promised to create an environment where police can work with 
confidence. Won made the remarks when Liberty Forward Party lawmaker Kim 
Yong-gu criticized the police’s timid response to street protests during a 
meeting of a special committee in the National Assembly. Won added that the 
police could not actively contain protests because any problem would result 
in punitive measures.
When Grand National Party lawmaker Lee Jong-heuk asked what percentage of 
the candlelight vigils protesting the import of the U.S. beef were held 
legally, Won said they could not be regarded as legal because none of them 
were reported in advance. When Lee asked again if 100 percent of them were 
illegal, Won said, “Yes.” When Lee asked if those who shout anti-Lee 
Myung-bak slogans were anti-constitutional dissidents, Won also said yes.
“It is very dangerous to allow outdoor assemblies at night. The reason why 
it was difficult to contain street protests in the beginning was because 
they were held at night,” Won said.
Asked about a reduction of the number of combat and auxiliary police, Won 
replied, “It would be impossible to block protesters with a smaller police 
force, so it seems necessary to secure a supply of combat and auxiliary 
forces from military personnel.”

http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGNAU200806065055&lang=e

South Korean protestors report excessive force by police
6 June 2008

Amnesty International has received reports of police using excessive force 
against demonstrators protesting against US beef imports in South Korea. 
More than 300 people were arrested during candlelight vigils held on 31 May 
and 1 June.

Police used fire extinguishers and water cannons fired at close range 
against largely peaceful demonstrators, causing serious injuries such as 
blindness, broken bones and concussions.

Amnesty International has received hundreds of reports of riot police 
rounding people up and arbitrarily arresting all those who happened to get 
caught in the process, including peaceful protesters, bystanders and 
passers-by. Several detainees reported police violence during and after 
their arrest.

Among those beaten and arrested was a 27-year-old man. Police officers 
kicked him and beat him with clubs and shields.

When the Amnesty International South Korean section director, Kim Hee-jin, 
visited him at the Hyehwa Police Station on 2 June, his face was swollen and 
he had cuts and scratches on his face and arm. He was suffering head and 
chest pains from the beatings. Although injured and in visible pain, the 
police did not provide him with any medical attention during his 48-hour 
arrest.

Amnesty International has called on the South Korean authorities to 
immediately investigate reports of excessive force.

"The police's resort to violence has angered a lot of peaceful protesters 
and increased the possibility of violence," said Norma Kang Muico, Amnesty 
International's Korea researcher. "The government should use the anniversary 
of the 1987 protests as an occasion to demonstrate its commitment to human 
rights and rule of law."

The organization also called on the authorities to ensure people's safety at 
future protests. There are fears of more violence and arrests with the 
imminent 10 June rally marking the anniversary of the 1987 democratic 
uprising that led to free elections and political reforms.

Since early May, tens of thousands of protesters have demonstrated against 
the renewal of US beef imports over fears of BSE or mad cow disease.

http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGPRE200807185513&lang=e

PRESS RELEASE
July, 18 2008
South Korea: Use of force against beef protestors should be investigated 
thoroughly

South Korean police used excessive force against peaceful protesters 
demonstrating against the government’s trade policies, Amnesty International 
said today as it provided preliminary findings of its investigation into 
human rights violations during the protests against US beef imports that 
took place in central Seoul between 25 May and 10 July.
“The government should demonstrate its commitment to the rule of law by 
ensuring accountability for any police officers who used excessive force and 
providing due process for protesters who face criminal charges,” said Norma 
Kang Muico, Amnesty International Researcher.
“Generally, both the protesters and the police showed remarkable 
organization and constraint. These protests, and the response to them, 
generally show the strength of South Korea’s civil society as well as its 
legal institutions, but we have documented several instances of human rights 
violations.”
Since early May, tens of thousands of protesters have demonstrated against 
the renewal of US beef imports over fears of BSE or mad cow disease. The 
protests, often involving crowds as large as 10,000, were largely peaceful, 
but there were incidents of violence as riot police sought to control 
surging crowds and some protesters attacked and vandalized police vehicles.
During candlelight vigils held on 31 May and 1 June, police used fire 
extinguishers and water cannons fired at close range against largely 
peaceful demonstrators, causing serious injuries such as blindness, broken 
bones and concussions.
Amnesty International’s investigation indicated that:
In some instances, police used excessive force and abused non-lethal riot 
control devices such as water cannons and fire extinguishers;
Police engaged in arbitrary arrests of protesters and onlookers;
Some detainees were subjected to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or 
punishment, including a lack of adequate medical care;
The Korean government has not yet carried out adequate investigations of 
these claims.
In one case a 24-year-old female office worker fell down after the riot 
police suddenly charged into the crowd. She was surrounded by at least five 
police officers who hit her with batons and kicked her repeatedly on her 
head. To protect herself, she covered her face with her arms. As a result, 
she suffered a broken arm, her head was severely swollen, and she had cuts 
and bruises on her upper body. She has not been able to return to work and 
has been hospitalised since 30 June.
Another case involved a 14-year-old boy who participated in the vigils with 
his mother, fellow classmates and teachers. When the police surged into the 
crowd, they ran onto the pavement for safety. A police officer hit the boy 
with a shield in the back of his head while the boy was running away. He 
fainted and his head was bleeding heavily. He was taken to the Yonsei 
Severance Hospital where doctors stitched his cut.
"These protests involved citizens making their point strongly but in large 
part peacefully. What they were met with, however, was excessive force by 
their own government, and that deserves a more thorough investigation," said 
Norma Kang Muico.

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?at_code=434758

Korea Protests: 'You Can't Win Over the People'
[Opinion] Seoul resident Ida Grandas shares her thoughts on 50+ days of 
demonstrations
Ida Grandas (jezaky)
 Published 2008-07-03 17:04 (KST)

There is a sentence I cannot get out of my head. For a week, it is the only 
thing that comes up when I read the news, talk with friends, or walk through 
downtown Seoul where the streets are filled with police buses and people 
protesting beef imports and government policies.

Last week, I was discussing the protests in Korea with a friend. Both of us 
have been following the conflict between the people protesting in the 
streets and the Lee Myung-bak administration from somewhere in between, 
talking to supporters of both sides in an attempt to try to understand what 
is going on.

My friend, who is a public official, couldn't understand the Lee 
administration's actions.

"They are not trying to find a solution," she said, pointing at the 
container wall that that was put up on June 10 and the crackdowns of 
protesters.

She called for the administration to try to listen to the people, to try to 
find a solution. Then she said the sentence that I cannot get out of my 
head:

"You can't win over the people."

Since we had that conversation, measures taken against the protesters have 
hardened. The government has said it cannot tolerate "violent, illegal 
rallies." They have tried to hinder the protest by encircling Seoul City 
Plaza -- where the candlelight vigils usually start -- with police buses. As 
a result, the protesters tried to push the buses over, and the police used 
water cannons against them.

When the trade unions were going on strike against the resumption of beef 
imports, privatization of public companies and the Grand Canal construction 
project, the Lee administration warned them, saying that they won't tolerate 
such an illegal and political walkout. Prosecutors are issuing warrants to 
arrest the ringleaders.

Justice Minister Kim Kyung-han has said that authorities may have to use 
tear gas to prevent more clashes between protesters and police. Tear gas has 
been banned since 1999 in South Korea.

The people organizing through the Internet are also being targeted. 
Prosecutors are trying to find Internet users who initiated and promoted the 
boycott against companies advertising in the three main conservative 
newspapers -- Chosun Ilbo, Dong-A Ilbo and JoongAng Ilbo -- all which 
support the president. They are said to commit "cyberviolence."

Meanwhile, in Mongolia, the government has been fighting violent protests in 
the capital Ulan Bator. There's a heavy troop presence and a curfew is in 
place. President Nambaryn Enkhbayar allowed the police to use force 
including tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons against the protesters.

In Mongolia, people took to the streets when the opposition Democratic Party 
rejected the results of the election held on Sunday. Frustration over the 
election became a lightning rod for tension over corruption and a growing 
gap between the rich and poor, as reported by the BBC recently.

I don't have a solution to what is happening in Korea or Mongolia. All I 
know is that I don't believe in the way the leaders are trying to solve 
these respective situations.

As my friend said, a leader is there to listen to the people. When there is 
a conflict, their job is to solve it, through communication, through 
understanding and in a peaceful way; even when the protests turn violent.

The leaders of nations are not the power-holders, it is the people. No 
matter how hard leaders try to control the people, they are the ones who in 
the end will decide.