Lee tires of protests over beef imports

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-9  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

SOUTH Korea's top legal official warned yesterday that the government was running out of patience following overnight street clashes amid rallies against a plan to resume United States beef imports.

Many South Koreans fear the resumption could raise the risk of mad cow disease in their country.

Justice Minister Kim Kyung-han, citing attacks on police buses and demonstrators' use of steel pipes, hinted that police could take tougher measures against protesters.

"The government has no choice but to take steps to protect law and order if social chaos that the general public cannot accept continues," Kim said.

Police clashes

He spoke after police and protesters clashed in central Seoul early yesterday, following a peaceful rally on Saturday night by about 40,000 people against a beef import deal with the US.

South Koreans have taken to the streets for weeks to oppose the agreement, which they say fails to protect against beef potentially tainted with mad cow disease.

The country banned American beef imports in December 2003 after a case was discovered in the US. The two governments have been struggling to come up with a workable plan to restart the imports.

They thought they had one in the form of an April 18 accord, struck just hours before a summit between President Lee Myung-bak and US President George W. Bush at Camp David.

The deal has effectively unraveled, however, as South Korea was forced to delay implementation as protests mounted. This was the second straight weekend of large-scale, sometimes violent protests, following several weeks of smaller, mostly peaceful ones.

The largest so far, which police estimated drew 65,000 people, took place downtown on Friday night and was followed by Saturday's slightly smaller gathering.

That spilled over into early yesterday when demonstrators attacked police riot-control buses lined up to barricade streets and block roads leading to the presidential Blue House.

Police and protesters clashed, even fighting each other on top of at least one of the buses. Clashes lasted until after sunrise. There appeared to be no serious injuries. Police took 11 people into custody for questioning.

The beef issue has confounded Lee who took office in February after a landslide election victory in December on a vow to boost the economy and bolster ties with Washington.

Both Seoul and Washington say US beef is safe, citing the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health.